


Of Motorcycles and Sweater-vests

by DracoKissMyCass



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dick Pics, F/F, F/M, High School AU, M/M, Modern AU, accidental texting, literally everyone is not straight, maybe two, non-magic au, okay there's one token straight, texting fic, wrong number texting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-09-06 02:23:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 41,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16823248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DracoKissMyCass/pseuds/DracoKissMyCass
Summary: Late on a Saturday night Remus Lupin, Classics major, receives a text from an unknown number. It's clearly a case of texting the wrong number, since the text contains... a dick pic. His decision to respond to the text message sends Remus on a path towards new friends, a high-stakes romance, and a multitude of shenanigans. Who said senior year would be boring?





	1. A Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus received a most intriguing text message... and meets a most intriguing person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Texting Guide for this chapter:  
> Sirius - bold  
> Remus - italics  
> Lily - underlined   
> James - underlined italics

Ping! Remus looked down at his phone, frowning when he didn’t recognize the number. Curiosity overtaking his trepidation, he swiped across the screen. As the text opened he took a sip of his tea, nearly spitting it out at he saw what was on the screen.

(658) 328-9760

**Hey Babe ;)**

**-dick pic-**

Trying his best not to panic, Remus quickly picked up his phone, chewing on his lower lip before he started typing across the screen.

_I’m sorry, but I think you have a wrong number._

There was a pause and dots scrolled across the bottom of his screen, letting Remus know that whoever had texted him was answering.

**Are you saying you’re not the hot blonde I met at the frat party last night?**

**And here I thought he really liked me :(**

Remus sighed, debating whether he should answer or not. On one hand, he was curious as to whom this mysterious man was (which might have had something to do with the mouth-watering quality of the cock he had seen up close and personal). On the other, for all he knew this person lived half-way across the world or was a serial murderer. Finally he decided, fingers hesitantly tapping out a new message.

_I’m afraid I’m not._

_Frat party, you say? Where do you go to school?_

**Haggerty. Right outside London.**

**You’re not a pedophile, are you?**

After reading the mysterious person’s last text, Remus almost choked. Haggerty. The university Remus was currently attending. Out of all the places… Fighting down the looming panic bubbling up in his chest, he screwed up enough courage to answer.

_No, not a pedophile._

_…I actually go to Haggerty too._

Remus waited for an answer with bated breath… and continued waiting until almost a half an hour had passed. Shaking his head, Remus sighed. It looked like the mystery person wasn’t going to answer him after all. Oh well, at least it had distracted him enough that he felt he could once again dive into his essay on Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus”. Of all the things to do on a Saturday night…

* * *

“You sent a picture of your dick to a complete stranger? How dumb are you?” James Potter laughed, cuffing his best friend over the top of his head. Huffing, Sirius Black batted away his hand, continuing their walk across the campus green. 

“I didn’t think it was a complete stranger, Jamie!” Sirius protested. “The bloke I met must have given me a phony number. But get this,” he looked up at his friend, pulling out his phone so he could look at the texts from the previous night. “whoever it was goes here!” he groaned, rubbing his face with a free hand. “Do you know how embarrassing that is? I sent a picture of my dick to a complete stranger and it just so happened that they may or may not be in my morning lecture. What if they find out who I am?”

James rolled his eyes as his best friend started to freak out, placing a calming hand on Sirius’s shoulder before he caught one of Sirius’s hands, which had moved to tug on his long locks nervously. “How would they be able to find out who you are, Sirius? No one’s going to identify you just from your cock unless they’ve seen it. And if they’ve seen it then I don’t think you’d care if you sent them that text anyway.” He paused, arching a curious eyebrow at the shorter boy. “So, are you going to continue texting them?”

Sirius’s eyes went wide at James’s question, having been too busy worrying the night before to even think about whether or not he would continue conversing with the mysterious stranger. “I…I don’t know.” He finally answered with a shrug, one hand sneaking up to tug a little on a couple strands of hair that had escaped from his low bun before it moved to shift his beanie lower on his head. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Well they clearly weren’t scared off by your cock.” James pointed out with a lighthearted grin. “Who knows, maybe they’re ~the one~.”

“Ah, yes.” Sirius said ruefully. “Because I’m definitely going to find ~the one~ by accidentally texting someone a picture of my penis. Definitely ~the one~ material there.” 

James shrugged as they entered the on-campus coffee shop, holding the door open with a gallant gesture to Sirius, who flipped him off in return. “You never know.” He looked around the room, taking note of the cozy atmosphere and mismatched furniture that were covered in what looked like very comfortable pillows. “I can’t believe we’ve never come here before.”

Studying their surroundings as well, Sirius nodded in agreement. The lights were dim, the type of industrial yet old-school light bulbs that harkened back to the old days of filament lighting when electricity was just starting to gain ground in society. The ceilings were fairly low and there were tables with chairs scattered around, though none of the chairs, nor the tables, seemed to match. Set into the far wall was a small fireplace, a fire already crackling in its hearth, and surrounding the fireplace was an odd assortment of couches and armchairs, strewn with pillows and even a couple of crocheted blankets. “I didn’t even know it existed until Marlene mentioned it last week.” Sirius admitted, looking around at the few students who occupied the place. “Not surprising really, with the location and lack of advertising.” To get there they had to go through one of the many alleyways between class buildings and they would have missed it entirely if James hadn’t spotted the sign above the small staircase leading down to the basement shop that read “The Three Broomsticks"

“If the coffee’s good we might have to come more often.” James smiled, stepping up to the counter as he tried to figure out what he wanted.

“Yeah.” Sirius agreed, stepping up with him as he concentrated on the posted menus above and behind the counter.

“Welcome to The Three Broomsticks.” A low voice asked them. “Can I help you?”

Sirius looked down, his mouth open to speak, and he froze, breath catching in his throat. For a second he couldn’t even speak as he took in the absolute radiant beauty of the barista that stood before him. “Oh.” He finally managed to croak out, one of his patented seductive expressions managing to slip onto his face. “I daresay you can.”

* * *

“And then he just stopped texting.” Remus complained to his coworker and best friend Dorcas Meadows. “I mean, I know it’s a bit weird since he didn’t mean to text me in the first place, but still…” he shrugged, chewing on his lower lip as he pulled his black apron on over his sweater, getting ready to take over his shift. “I dunno, I guess I was hoping I would at least get to learn who he was.”

“Don’t stress about it, dear.” Dorcas smiled, patting Remus on the arm. “I bet he was just another one of those frat jocks wanting to get laid. You don’t want to mix with those types anyway.”

“Yeah, I know.” Remus sighed, tugging gently on a curl that hung next to his face. “But it’s just… hard. You don’t understand, the picture he sent was…ugh. Beautiful.”

Dorcas laughed, shaking her head a little as she gathered her hair into a ponytail. “You’re right, I don’t know. Never was a huge fan of cock, you know.”

Remus rolled his eyes at that. “Never quite understood why, but it’s your decision. Anyway, do you think I should text him again?” he paused, glancing at his phone. “I should text him again.” He reached for the device but paused as he heard the small bell above the door chime the arrival of customers. “Shit.” He swore softly, quickly pinning on his nametag. “I guess that’ll have to wait. See you later.” He smiled as Dorcas waved him off, and went out to the counter.

He stopped in his tracks the moment that he saw the young man standing on the other side of the counter, face tilted up as he focused on the menu located above the bar, taking in the features of the most beautiful bloke that Remus had ever seen. His eyes skimmed over long, dark hair, most of it pulled into a bun though some strands had escaped to frame his face, moving on to almond shaped eyes and a complexion darker than Remus’s own but lighter than the tall, Indian man who stood by his side. After quickly checking to make sure that the pair was still engrossed in figuring out what to order, Remus’s eyes darted down to take in a warn band t-shirt partially obscured by the large leather jacket that hung off the man’s frame, ripped jeans splattered with paint and something tan and chalky, and a pair of black boots that Remus could only describe as “stompy”. Gathering his wits, and realizing that he really had been standing there for far too long gawking at the bloke, Remus finally spoke. “Welcome to The Three Broomsticks.” He said, cursing inside of his head as his voice came out low and rather throaty. “Can I help you?”

Remus tried to get his wits about him as the bloke looked at him, seeming to study him intensely for a moment before answering him. “Oh.” A seductive smile curved at the corners of the man’s lips and Remus tried his best not to blush. “I daresay you can.”

The Indian man next to him rolled his eyes, elbowing him in the ribs. “Don’t mind Sirius.” He said to Remus, sounding apologetic. “He’ll flirt with anything with two legs.”

“Hey!” The man – Sirius, Remus corrected in his head – protested. “I do not! I was just being friendly.” He huffed, shooting his friend a wounded look. The Indian man didn’t look at all remorseful, turning back to Remus.

“I’ll have a medium vanilla latte and he’ll have a mocha.” The man said, ignoring Sirius’s continuing protests that he did, actually, have standards and that James shouldn’t have ordered his drink for him.

“The names for the order?” Remus asked, pulling out two cups and picking up a Sharpe before looking at him expectantly.

“James for mine, Sirius for his.” James answered with a grin and Remus quickly wrote the names down. He pulled out his wallet at Remus rang him up, his total coming to just under ten pounds. Sliding him a tenner, James winked at him. “Keep the change…for all the trouble my dear friend here has caused you.” And with that he turned on his heel, dragging Sirius behind him over to a cushy looking couch with a table in front of it.

Taking a deep breath, Remus tore his eyes away from the stunning raven-haired beauty, quickly hurrying over to the espresso machine to make their drinks. Once they were finished Remus contemplated calling their names like he would for any other customer, but… even before he had made the decision his feet were already walking him over to the couch they sat on. “Here are your drinks.” He smiled a little nervously, setting them down on the table. “Let me know if you need anything else.” He smiled slightly again before quickly scurrying off behind the counter before either of the young men could answer.

James arched an eyebrow at Sirius before picking up the coffee cups. He laughed as he read what was written on Sirius’s, passing it over. “Cute, isn’t he.”

Sirius rolled his eyes, unable to help chuckling softly as he read ‘Serious’ written on his cup, before he took a sip. His eyes widened a little before falling shut in bliss. “Man, this is the best coffee I have ever had the pleasure of drinking.” He sighed happily. “We’ll have to come back, and _not_ just to see the cute barista.” He quickly added, shooting James a look.

“Oh, so you admit you find him cute.” James teased, taking a sip of his own drink and letting out a contented sigh. “I always knew you had a thing for bookworms in sweater vests.”

“Your words, not mine.” Sirius shot back, though he did take a quick glance back at the counter, slightly disappointed when Remus was nowhere to be seen. “We don’t know he’s a bookworm, he could just look like one. And the sweater vest is endearing, you have to admit.”

James laughed, shaking his head a little in amusement. “Actually yes, I do know that he’s a bookworm. He’s studying English and Classical Literature. I thought I recognized him from somewhere, just realized it was from my poetry class last semester. You know, the one I took for a blow-off gen-ed credit. The one with the bloke I was telling you about who just so happened to write really amazing poetry…” he grinned over the top of his cup at Sirius. “That bloke was him.”

Sirius’s eyes widened as he recalled the conversation he had had with James the previous semester about that particular class. James had hated the class, despite its ease of lecture and lack of concrete homework or exams. He had ranted for hours about how half of the class was pretentious, using large words that no one else knew just to show off, and the other half wouldn’t know what poetry was if it bit them in the arse, writing lines and lines about whales and balloons that were actually snakes in disguise. It was all “sanctimonious bullshit”, as James put it. But at the end of his rant James had to admit that there was one bloke in the class who had a modicum of talent, writing poems that flowed with imagery and a rhythm that no one else had managed to attain. “So he’s adorable and smart.” Sirius sighed happily, gazing at the still empty bar. “I knew he’d be perfect.”

Once again James let out a bark of laughter. “He’s all fuzzy sweaters and puppies, Sirius. You’re leather and tigers. Don’t you think he’d mess up your image? And anyway, what about the bloke you were texting?”

Sirius shook his head, pulling out his phone and playing with it nervously. “I don’t know… I’ve always had a soft spot for the book-ish types. And he’s just so pretty…” he trailed off, flicking his screen on and pulling up the texts from the previous night. “Do you think I should text back?”

“Duh.” James grinned at him, relaxing back against the couch. “Aren’t you curious as to who they are?”

“A bit, yeah.” Sirius admitted, staring at the screen for a moment as he thought. Chewing on his lip, he slowly began to type.

Remus started as his phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced out to the rest of the shop, saw no one needed his immediate attention, and pulled it out.

**You go to Haggerty too, huh? What major?**

His phone buzzed in his hand as another message appeared, nearly making Remus choke on air.

**Like what you saw last night?**

Swallowing hard, Remus tried to figure out how he should respond to such a question. Should he be teasing? Coy? Just tell the truth? Or should he just ignore that question and answer the others? Hesitatingly, he tapped out a response.

_Wow, that went zero to a hundred real quick._

_I’m a Classics major, if you must know. You?_

_…and yes. I really liked what I saw._

Remus flushed as a checkmark flashed next to the message, meaning that the other person had opened it, glad that he couldn’t be seen. What was he thinking, flirting back? That wasn’t like him at all. He jumped as the bell above the door tinkled merrily, quickly shoving his phone in his pocket as he hurried to help the newcomers. As he was getting their orders he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Resisting the temptation to pull it out, Remus made the coffees as efficiently as possible. He cursed mentally as he turned back to the counter only to see a line had already formed and more students were entering through the door. Glancing at his watch, Remus shook his head a little; it was 8:00 pm, meaning that the night classes just got out and students throughout campus would be flocking to the closest coffee shop to get the caffeine that would keep them going through the night as they finished up papers and assignments. There was no way he’d get to check his messages until things died down.

Ten minutes after sending his last message, Sirius sighed, brooding into the dregs of his almost finished coffee. The mystery stranger hadn’t answered, and Sirius was almost sure it was because they had lost interest or Sirius had scared them off.

Across from his James huffed, rolling his eyes and knocking Sirius upside the head. “Stop looking like the world is ending, Sirius. Maybe they just had to go do homework or something.” when Sirius scoffed in response to that, James cuffed him again. “Some people do have to do it, even if you don’t have any Mr. Artist.” he glanced at his watch and sighed, downing the rest of his coffee. “Speaking of which, I really need to get going on mine. There’s some stuff I need to work on in the lab and I don’t like being in there past midnight. It’s creepy.” he shivered a bit at the memory of the last time he’d spent a late night in that room, every creak and groan of the building around him sounding all too much like footsteps getting ever closer.

“Yes, yes, go do your bloody homework.” Sirius waved him off as James stood and slung his backup over his shoulder. “You can build me a robot or something as payment for this abandonment.”

James rolled his eyes again, shaking his head a little. “You know I don’t work with electronics, Sirius. Have a good night, I’ll see you at the apartment, yeah?” he arched an eyebrow at his friend.

“Yeah.” Sirius nodded, leaning back against the couch and sighing. “I have some stuff I want to go through tonight, though, so I’ll probably be late.” he paused, a smirk decorating his lips. “Don’t wait up, dear.”

Flicking him off, James laughed, turning on his heel and heading out of the shop. “See you.”

As his best friend left Sirius sighed, staring down at his empty mug with a frown. The shop had emptied out quite a bit since the mad rush at eight and he resisted the temptation to turn around and see if the cute barista was still working the counter.

“Can I get you a refill? On the house.” Sirius jumped as a voice came from behind him, fairly close to his ear. He turned, looking up into the face of the barista in question. Up this close he could see the light brown freckles that littered his nose and the area under his eyes, and he could just barely make out the fine, silvery lines of scars around one eye and along his jaw.

Stuttering, his mouth having gone dry at the radiant beauty he saw before him, Sirius finally managed to nod after several moments of what he was sure was awkward staring. “Y-yeah. Thanks.”

“Not a problem.” Remus smiled, coming around the couch and taking Sirius’s coffee, their fingers brushing lightly. Sirius inhaled sharply at the contact, tingles shooting up his arm from the point Remus had touched. Once the coffee cup was once again filled, Remus passed it back with a smile. “Careful, it’s hot.” he warned just as Sirius took a sip, scalding his tongue. He stifled a giggle behind his hand as the dark haired boy winced, making a face as he stuck out his tongue to try and cool it off.

“Thanks for the warning.” Sirius muttered sarcastically once his tongue was sufficiently cooled. When he saw Remus’s face fall and the boy start to shuffle away, he quickly gave him a dashing smile. “But the coffee’s so good that I’ll forgive you this once.” he teased, happy to see the barista stop his backward motion. “How come I haven’t seen you around campus before?”

After looking around to make sure that there were no other customers he should be attending to, Remus slowly sat down on the couch across from Sirius. “I tend to stay mainly in the Library and the English Building, if I’m not here, honestly.” he admitted, feeling a bit silly. _Great, now the hot guy will think I’m a nerd_. Fantastic.

Sirius chuckled lightly at that, oblivious to Remus’s embarrassment. “So you’re a bookworm, huh? I like it.” he stretched out, long legs tapping against Remus’s under the table between them. “Have to admit I’m not much of a library goer.” he gestured to his paint and clay-stained jeans. “I spend most of my time haunting the studio, sometimes the science labs if I’m visiting James.” he indicated the seat next to him which his best friend had vacated. “I’ll definitely have to come here more often.” he stated with a playful wink to the other male.

A blush decorated Remus’s cheeks and he cleared his throat, quickly standing as he saw a couple enter the door. “Well, thank you. I’m glad you like the coffee. Thank you for stopping in…” he trailed off with an arched brow, realizing he had already forgotten the bloke’s name.

“Sirius.” Sirius grinned. “Like the dog star.” he added after seeing Remus’s confused expression. The barista’s expression morphed into one of dawning understanding and he threw Sirius a wry smile.

“I hope you stop back in soon, then… Sirius.” Remus said over his shoulder with what he hoped was a seductive wink before he sauntered back behind the counter to await his newly arrived customers, leaving Sirius to stare after him in slack-jawed amazement.

It wouldn’t be until later that night as he threw his fourth bowl of the evening that Sirius realized he never got the barista’s name.

* * *

It wasn’t until later that night that Remus remembered his phone and the unanswered message that awaited him on it. With trepidation he fished in out of his pocket, swiping over the screen to bring the message up.

**Really? The piercing sometimes...irks people.**

Remus flushed, chewing on his lower lip. Should he tell the stranger what he really thought? Should he tell him that he had always thought piercings and tattoos were exceptionally hot and that he wanted nothing more than to toy with that piece of metal with his teeth and tongue? Well, maybe he shouldn’t tell that last part. Remus just did not have the self-confidence for that just yet. But everything else…

_I...I think piercings are kinda hot, actually._

**You do? What kinds do you have?**

_None, actually. I like them on other people,_

_But they’re just not my thing for myself._

**I understand that. What about tattoos?**

_Those I do have._

**I like. Where?**

**And do you like your men with tattoos too?**

_I do. As to where… I’m not telling._

**Awww, come on. :( Please?**

**…**

**I’ll tell you where mine is.**

Remus set his phone down, studying it for a moment before he turned back to the book he was working on for his poetry class. No, that topic of conversation was just too personal for him right now. He didn’t even know who this bloke was! The phone vibrated and he ignored it, trying hard to focus on the words on the page. It vibrated again and he focused harder, reading the same sentence three times and still not gathering it’s meaning. His phone vibrated a third time and he sighed, setting down his book and swiping at the screen to read the message.

**I have one on my shoulder blade.**

**Another on my bicep.**

**The third wraps around my hip, right next to my...you know ;)**

Remus rolled his eyes, typing back a quick reply.

_You’re quite trashy, you know that right?_

There was a long pause compared to the time between their previous messages and for a few moments Remus was afraid that the other bloke was actually offended. Maybe adding an emoji would help make it clearer that he was teasing? Luckily before he could embarrass himself further by sending an emoji the bubble that meant the other bloke was texting appeared.

**Eh, not usually.**

**You just caught me at my trashy-est and**

**Now I have a reputation to uphold.**

_You don’t have a reputation to uphold, don’t worry._

_Not that I mind the trashy-ness._

_But...like, you don’t have to be if you don’t want._

_I dunno._

_I’m not very good at this, in case you couldn’t tell._

**Not good at what, texting? I think you’re doing just fine.**

_No, not texting. This whole… flirting over texting thing._

**Oh...is that what we’re doing?**

_I...I think? Aren’t we?_

**Maybe? We don’t have to be.**

_Oh, okay. Good. Well… it’s late._

_And I have an essay to write. So...goodnight, I guess?_

**Yeah, good idea. Prongs is yelling at me to sleep.**

**Goodnight! <3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next, Chapter 2: An Invitation


	2. An Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus encounters a motorbike and receives an invitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Text Key:  
> Sirius - Bold  
> Remus - Italics  
> Lily - Underlined  
> James - Underlined Italics

The next morning Remus awoke to the sound of his alarm blaring in his ear, once again reminding him that he had to get up to go to his classes. He groaned, rolling over and fumbling with the clock on his nightstand, trying to find the button that would turn it off. Once his room was once again blessedly silent he flopped his face back against his pillow, closing his eyes. Maybe he would just skip his 8am. Although, it was poetry, one of his favorites...

Just as he was about to say “Fuck it all” and burrow back under his warm covers, his door flew open and a cheery voice sing-songed “Good morning, Remus! Get up, you don’t want to miss your 8am… or breakfast with me, for that matter.”

Groaning, Remus rolled over to glare at his apartment mate Lily Evans, although the effect was rather lessened by his sleep-rumpled hair. “Shut up, Lils. How are you this chipper in the morning?” he grumbled, trying to sneak back under his comforter without her noticing.

The cacoon of warmth was unceremoniously ripped from his body and he glared up at a smiling face framed by shockingly red hair. “Two cups of coffee.” Lily answered brightly. “I’ve been up since five finishing a lab report. I feel great!” she beamed, bouncing energetically on the balls of her feet, clearly a side-effect of ingesting too much caffeine.

Remus was about to tell her to “Kindly _fuck off_ ” when he heard his phone buzz against his nightstand. He scrambled to get it, fingers swiping across the screen. He grinned at the words that appeared across the screen, butterflies swarming his stomach and a blush staining his cheeks.

**Good Morning, Beautiful**

He quickly waved Lily and her curious looks towards his phone off. “I’m getting up, I’m getting up, don’t worry.” He told her, getting out of bed with another weary groan. “Now get out, I have to change.”

Lily threw him a look. “Not like I haven’t seen you naked before.” She pouted.

“There's a difference between accidentally walking in on me changing and purposefully staying in here.” Remus pointed out, heading to his closet to pick out his clothes for the day – probably another warm sweater and a warn pair of jeans, just like yesterday. “Not to mention now you know I'm gay and not interested.”

His best friend’s pout deepened, but she did move back towards the door. “Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the sight of your body, right?” she teased.

Remus flicked her off, pulling off his shirt. “Go get yourself a boyfriend to ogle, Evans. And get out of my room!”

With a giggle and a little wave Lily left the room, not even doing him the courtesy of closing the door behind herself. Remus went to shut it, muttering under his breath about horny best friends. He resisted the temptation to respond to the stranger’s text until after he was dressed and sitting at their kitchen table with Lily, munching on some cereal.

_No morning can be good at this unholy hour._

_…and what the fuck is a Prongs?_

“So, who are you texting?” Lily finally asked after several long moments of quiet crunching, arching an eyebrow at Remus.

A bit startled by the sudden noise in the silence, Remus jumped a little, looking up. He had been so immersed in watching his phone, willing the mystery stranger to answer him that he had almost forgotten that someone else was in the room with him. “Oh, um, nobody.” Remus stuttered, pretty embarrassed that he was so engrossed in texting a complete stranger.

Huffing, Lily rolled her eyes before she reached across the table and snatched Remus’s phone. She looked at the contact name, arching an unimpressed eyebrow out Ramus. “Handsome Stranger, really?”

“Hey, give that back!” Remus exclaimed, trying to grab back the phone, but Lily kept it held just out of his reach. “I don’t know his name, okay?”

“And yet you know he’s handsome?” Lily asked, leaning back as she scrolled slowly through their messages.

Remus mumbled something under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck and Lily looked up from the phone, stopping scrolling. “Sorry, what was that?” She smirked, clearing have some idea of what he had said, but wanting him to say it clearly allowed.

Sighing, Remus covered his eyes, not wanting to look at her as he said the words. “He has a nice cock, okay?”

Lily practically squealed, dropping the phone back onto the table as she covered her mouth, squirming in place. Remus quickly snatched back his phone, giving his friend a look. “Will you stop that, please? Eat your cereal, we need to go.” He looked at his watch and swore under his breath. “In fact, we need to go _now_.”

Lily quickly stopped her fan-girling, the terror of being late to her Organic Chemistry lab with Professor Slughorn sobering her up. Within minutes they were bundled up for the quickly cooling weather, out of the door and heading towards the main part of campus.

“So, how do you know what his cock looks like if you’ve never met the guy?” Lily finally asked as she hurried along besides Remus, nearly having to jog to keep up with his long strides. “And will you please slow down? Not all of us have long legs, you giant.”

Remus laughed, slowing down a touch so she could keep up. “That’s actually how we started texting. He…well, he texted my number by mistake and, um, sent me a picture of his dick.”

“And you responded!” Lily crowed, cuffing Remus on the arm as she smirked widely. “And here I thought you were going to get lost in your sweater-vests and books and never find yourself a bloke.”

Rubbing the spot Lily had punched – for her size she had a scary amount of strength and didn’t seem to realize it – Remus shook his head. “I haven’t ‘found myself a bloke’, Lils, we’re just texting. And anyway, he was at a frat party when he met the guy he thought he was texting when he texted me by mistake – a hot blonde guy, by the way—which means he’s probably a frat boy and would have zero interest in a bookworm like me.” He stated with finality as they came up to the Science Center, an imposing building of steel and glass.

“Well then it’s his loss.” Lily shrugged, giving him a quick hug. “I’ll see you after classes, right?”

“Coffee again?” Remus asked, although he already knew the answer. They always got coffee and did homework together before Remus had to work. They both liked the atmosphere, not to mention Remus’s employee discount. Who could say no to half-off coffee?

“Of course.” Lily answered with a grin, departing from his side with a little wave. “See you later.”

Remus smiled to himself as he continued walking, heading to the much smaller, old brick structure that housed the majority of the English department. He was just about to cross the path to the building when a motorbike sped around the corner of the building, nearly colliding into him. The driver managed to swerve at the last minute, not even slowing down despite the fact that Remus now lay sprawled in the grass from where he had jumped back to get out of the way and lost his footing. He scowled as the bike sped away, catching a glimpse of black hair peeking out from beneath the rider’s helmet.

Once he was sitting in his personally assigned seat near the back of the classroom, Remus pulled out his phone, fighting down the disappointment when he saw that he had no new messages. He opened up his thread with the mystery stranger, quickly typing before the professor arrived.

_That moment when you almost get hit by some idiot on a motorcycle._

_A MOTORCYCLE! BEING RIDDEN THROUGH CAMPUS!_

_Idiot._

_Sorry, you’re probably in class or sleeping or…something._

_I just really needed to rage at someone._

As the head of the English Department, Professor McGonagall, entered the room and went up to the chalkboard, Remus pocketed his phone, reminding himself that he had to ignore it, even if it vibrated. McGonagall had a strict “No Electronics” policy during class and Remus preferred to be on the formidable woman’s good side, especially since she was his major advisor. As class started Remus too often found his mind straying from sonnets to a mysterious stranger whose name he still didn’t even know…

* * *

Sirius sprinted through the doors to the art studio, skidding to a halt as he slid into his seat moments before his Professor entered the room. Fortunately Professor Binns, Sirius’s Art History professor, didn’t seem to notice his flushed face and panting breaths as he stood behind his desk, opened up the textbook, and started droning on from the chapter they had left off at last class. Sometimes Sirius wondered if the professor would even notice if he didn’t show up for class, but since this was one of the hardest ones he had this semester he just didn’t want to risk it. As he was running into the building he had felt his phone buzz a couple of times against his leg, so he discreetly pulled it out, keeping it out of sight as he read through the new messages. He smiled to himself as he read through the strangers’ words, wondering if the guy would be mad if he admitted to quite often riding his motorbike through campus. It was just so convenient… and Sirius was sure he wasn’t the only one who did it. Not to mention he didn’t remember nearly running someone over, granted he wasn’t paying much attention on his ride to the art building that morning, too concerned with having overslept. After a few moments of thought Sirius quickly replied.

**Motorbikes aren’t that bad. At least you didn’t get hit?**

**I take it you’re not a morning person, are you?**

**Oh, and Prongs is my best mate. It’s his nickname.**

After sending the message Sirius waiting in anticipation for a reply, but was disappointed when ten minutes later there still hadn’t appeared the checkmark that would mean the other guy had opened the message. With a light sigh Sirius pocketed his phone, taking out his notebook and returning his attention to the class at hand. If he didn’t have the stranger’s texts to entertain him then he might as well pay attention to his class, right?

* * *

Remus breathed a sigh of relief as he left his last class of the day, taking out his phone and re-reading through the messages between himself and the stranger, smiling a little.

_Motorbikes are nothing but deathtraps and mornings were created by Satan himself._

_What kind of nickname is Prongs? Do you have a nickname?_

_It would be nice to have something to call you…_

_Also sorry for taking so long to answer. My English prof hates cell phones and texting._

_You don’t want to get on the wrong side of Minnie._

**It’s all good, I was working in the studio anyway.**

**Can’t text while you’re throwing clay, you know?**

**Prongs has a long story to how he got that name… I won’t bore you with it**

**Our other apartment-mate is Wormtail. Now THAT’S a funny story.**

**My nickname is Padfoot, actually. And you can call me it all you want ;)**

_Padfoot, really? /And/ a winky-face?_

_What are you, 16?_

**No, I’m actually 20 if you must know. Turning 21 in November.**

_Wow, so very old. You’re ancient._

**Yeah? And how old are you, then? (please tell me I’m not flirting with a minor…)**

_Haha, no. I’m 20 too, but birthday isn’t till March. And…flirting?_

**So very young ;) Such a little one.**

_Oh shut up._

_So your entire apartment has nicknames, huh?_

_What are you, some sort of gang?_

**Of course! We even have matching jackets and everything!**

_Wait…really?_

**…yes? Is that not normal?**

_Well, not…not really, no._

_…Did I offend you?_

**No, don’t worry about it.**

**Just had to tell Prongs that apparently we’re weird**

**(he wasn’t surprised, actually)**

**Now we’re trying to come up with a nickname for you.**

**Btw, what do you look like?**

_Why do I feel like answering that will turn into sexting?_

**Come one, I’m not that much of a trash boy. I think.**

**Now appearance, go.**

_SIGH. Fine. I’m tall, pale, light brown hair, very ordinary. Strangely large canine teeth._

_Anything else you need?_

**No, no, that’s good. Prongs thinks he has a good one.**

_And do you agree with Prongs?_

**I’m still thinking…**

**Yeah, I think it might fit.**

**Depends…how muscular are you?**

_Um… is that actually necessary information for a nickname._

**Yes. It’s very important.**

_I… not very?_

**You’re a bookish type, aren’t you!**

**WAIT! You study CLASSICS! OF COURSE YOU ARE!**

**Oh this is sooooo great! Do you wear sweater-vests too?**

_…yes?_

_Are you going to tease me about this now?_

**No, no. I think it’s adorable. And fitting.**

**Now, your nickname. Drum roll please!**

_…/insert drumroll here/?_

**Very good.**

**And…. Moony!**

_…Moony?_

**Yes, Moony. Don’t you like it?**

_No_.

**Aw, come on Moonyyyy, you have to like it! I gave you it!**

_Fine, I’ll accept your gracious offer of a nickname._

_…Thank you. It’s nice._

_It’s just… ironic._

**Really? How come?**

_Um… I’d rather not say. It just is._

_Sorry, but I gotta go. Meeting a friend for homework._

**Okay, so am I. Talk to yah later… Moony!**

_SIGH… yeah… Padfoot._

**;)**

Remus was still smiling as he walked into The Three Broomsticks, quickly spotting Lily sitting with two steaming mugs off coffee at a low table with two armchairs that sat in front of the crackling fireplace. He flopped down into the armchair next to her, sliding his backpack off and onto the floor next to him. “Thanks, Lils.” He smiled, picking up the mug she slid in front of him and humming in content as it warmed his cold hands. Although it was only mid-October the weather was already turning cool, the sun disappearing behind a mired of grey clouds.

“You’re welcome.” Lily smiled, resting back in her chair and taking a sip of her drink. “How were classes?”

“Oh, the usual.” Remus answered with a shrug. “Most of the students in my poetry class are complete idiots who wouldn’t know a sonnet compared to a couplet it if bit them in the arse. And half of the students in my Shakespeare class just can’t seem to wrap their heads around how very gay Shakespeare is. I mean, there are _so many_ dick jokes! How can they not see that?!” he huffed before he sighed, realizing that he was once again ranting about literature. He just couldn’t help it. “But that’s all beside the point. How’s becoming a mad scientist going?”

Lily rolled her eyes, hitting his arm good-naturedly, making sure it wasn’t the one holding the coffee mug. “It was fine. You know that bloke I was telling you about? The one with the scruffy hair and glasses?” she sniffed a bit disdainfully. “James Potter?”

Remus nodded, a small smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. Did he know James Potter, the guy that Lily had been ranting about for the last two years at college? Of course he did, although he’d never met the bloke, thank goodness. Otherwise he would have had to give the guy a piece of his mind about how to treat the girl you’re supposedly in love with. “What did lover boy do this time?”

Lily’s eyes narrowed at him and she huffed softly. “Don’t joke about that, Remus, it’s disgusting! He was hitting on me again, using the most awful of pick up lines, even though I’ve told him time and time again that I’m not interested, and because he wasn’t watching his reaction close enough it started burning and actually caught. On. Fire! Can you believe that!?” she growled a bit under her breath as she recalled the scene. After a few moments she sighed, the fire dying in her eyes. “Granted, afterward Severus made a snide comment about how Engineers should just stay in their mechanics shops and leave the real science to the chemists, along with some rather unsavory comments about Potter's family and his qualifications to be here, which were just uncalled for.” She flushed a little, looking down at his mug. “I might have slapped him for it.” She made a face, although Remus noticed that her cheeks were still a bit pink. “I can’t believe I stood up for James Potter of all people.”

“You did the right thing, Lils.” Remus smiled, patting her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “I know that you and Severus used to be friends back in High School, but you have to admit that he’s changed, and not for the better. And as for James Potter…” he smirked, giving her a knowing look. “Maybe he’ll actually just ask you out now that you’ve done something nice for him and you can say yes and both of you can stop dancing around this issue.”

At that Lily’s cheeks grew even redder, though she glared at Remus with indignance. “I do not like James Potter, Remus!” she hissed. “He’s a no-good, rich, spoiled brat who doesn’t care for anyone but himself!”

“My ears are burning, Evans, are you actually talking about me?” a voice came from behind the pair and they both jumped, spinning around to see the two newcomers. “I hope it’s all good things.”

Remus’s eyes widened as he realized that it was the bloke who had been sitting with Sirius the night before. Sirius…who was standing right next to the bloke, James it must be, and looking at Remus like he wanted to devour him. Next to Remus Lily stuttered, her face turning bright red at being caught out. “I…I… no, of course I wasn’t! Not that I would _ever_ have any good things to say to _you_ , James Potter!”

The bloke, James, just laughed, giving Lily what Remus suspected was his most charming smile. “Oh come on, Evans, you can’t mean that. Just give me a chance, come on… just one date.”

“No way in hell.” Lily huffed in reply, crossing her arms over her chest and turning towards the fire, essentially ignoring the other boys’ existence.

“Hey Evans, don’t be that way. Why don’t we just-“ James started before his friend cut him off.

“Not a date then.” Sirius said, a glint in his eye that made Remus suddenly nervous. “How about, instead of a date, you two come to our Halloween Party?” he offered, looking pointedly at Remus. “It’s a costume party, plenty of people will be there, and you two can get to know each other. And if you still don’t like him, Evans, then you can leave. No questions asked.”

To Remus’s surprise Lily actually seemed to be considering it, so Remus spoke up for her before she could do something stupid like agree. As much as Remus wanted to go to a party with the oh-so-lovely Sirius in attendance, he wasn’t willing to throw his best friend to the wolves just to do it. “Thanks for the offer, but no.” he said, just as Lily spoke up with “Okay, sure.”

The pair looked at each other, Lily’s face set in an expression which made Remus realize that there was no way he’d be able to convince her otherwise. “Oh, alright, fine.” He conceded with a sigh. “We’ll come. When and where is it?”

As they figured out the logistics; the party was at James, Sirius, and their other roommate Peter’s apartment the weekend before Halloween from 8 until late, Remus took out his phone, putting the event in his calendar and trying to ignore the enticing scent that had settled over him as Sirius leaned in close to speak with Lily.

“That’s settled then.” Sirius straightened up and Remus mourned the distance that now separated them. “We’ll see you there. Oh, and dressing up is mandatory, by the way. We go all out for Halloween, just so you know.” He winked at them before dragging James off before he could make a fool of himself.

Remus sighed, turning towards his best friend. “I can’t believe you just agreed to go to a party with James Potter. I thought you hated the guy.”

Lily shrugged, an unreadable expression crossing her face. “I might not like him, but even I have to admit he’s good looking. Not to mention I saw the way his friend was eyeing you, Remus, don’t think I didn’t notice.” She nudged him a little. “So really I did that for you, so you’re welcome.”

Shaking his head, Remus chanced a glance back behind them, scanning the shop until he found the pair sitting at a table, heads together as they talked quietly. “Yeah, he’s good looking, but that doesn’t mean you should suffer on my behalf.”

“You heard what he said, it’ll be a big party. I’m not going there with James Potter, it’s more like… I’m going to a party that James Potter just so happens to be at.” Lily shrugged a bit, picking up her coffee again and taking a sip. “There are a lot worse things in the world to happen.”

Remus shrugged in response, switching from his calender on his phone to his messages. He thought for a few moments, nawing on his lower lip before he typed out a message.

_Hey, do you have plans for Halloween?_

_I got invited to this party and was wondering…well, you know._

_If you wanted to come? We could meet? Maybe?_

_In a public setting so things wouldn’t be awkward?_

_Sorry, that’s probably really weird._

_We don’t ever have to meet if you don’t want to, I just…_

**Want to have a face to put with the texts?**

Remus blinked in surprise at the quick response, waiting as the dots continued to bounce, meaning that the other person was still typing.

**I would actually really like that too.**

**When’s the party?**

Letting out a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding, Remus quickly replied, a spark of hope igniting in his chest. Maybe he’d actually be able to score a boyfriend before he left college. That was… if the stranger still wanted him after they met. But he already knew about his physical appearance and penchant for sweater vests and hadn’t been scared off yet…

_Saturday before, around 8. That work?_

**Damn. Sorry, but I’ve already got plans that night.**

**Really wish we could meet, though.**

**Um… maybe some other time?**

That spark of hope died and Remus swallowed hard, fingers hovering over the letters on his screen before he closed his eyes and shut off his phone. Well, there went that.

When Remus looked back up it was to find Lily studying him intently, a frown dancing on her lips. “What?” he asked, surprising himself by the bite in his voice.

“What was that about?” Lily asked in concern. “You looking… a bit heartbroken, to tell you the truth.”

“Oh.” Remus swallowed, quickly picking up his mug and taking a drink to have something to do with his shaking hands. “I just… I invited him, the guy I’m texting, Padfoot’s his nickname, to the party. But… he said he already had plans.”

At his explanation Lily rolled her eyes. “And of course you thought that that meant that he just didn’t want to meet you?” She waited for Remus to give a small nod before she continued. “Oh you idiot. Maybe he actually has plans. And anyway, you guys just started texting a couple days ago. Give it some time.”

“Yeah, I know, you’re right.” Remus said, mentally berating himself. This was why he never could keep a boyfriend. He just fell too hard too quickly and was way too… clingy. No one wanted someone like that. He took a deep breath and made the decision. He wasn’t going to be to clingy. He was going to try his best to be casual about this and whatever other relationship opportunities presented themselves to him. He could do this. “Sorry.” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Don’t apologize, Remus, it’s fine.” Lily smiled at him before she checked her watch. “Now I do believe we should go grab some dinner before you start work, yeah?”

Remus nodded, finishing off his coffee and grabbing his backpack again. So much for doing homework, he should have known it was too much to expect when he met up with Lily. “Yeah, sounds good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next, Chapter 3: A Plan


	3. A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Sirius have a moment. Remus subsequently has a crisis. Sirius gives some good (?) advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Text Key:  
> Sirius - Bold  
> Remus - Italics  
> Lily - Underlined  
> James - Underlined Italics

“He wanted to meet up with me, James.” Sirius whined, his head laying on the table as he looked up at his friend piteously. “He wanted to meet me, but I can’t because of that stupid party we’re throwing. Maybe we could move it to Friday? Do you think we could do that?” he asked, brightening a bit.

“No, Sirius, we can’t move it to Friday just so you can go meet whatever trash-boy you’re texting.” James shook his head. “Not only have we just gotten Evans and her friend to come, but the caterers are reserved for Saturday and even I can’t convince them to change to Friday only two weeks in advance.” He paused, reaching out to run his fingers through his best friend’s hair, which was out of its usual bun and splayed around his head in long waves. “And just think, Lily’s friend will be there. You know… the cute barista who you’ve actually met and seen?”

Sirius immediately brightened at that, popping his head up to look over to where the pair was sitting. He deflated slightly when he noticed that they were gone, going back to nursing his coffee mug. “Yeah, but he didn’t even want to come.” He mumbled.

James rolled his eyes. “Come on, Sirius, don’t be such a wet blanket. If I can win over Evans then certainly you can win over the cute barista.”

“But you haven’t won over Evans.” Sirius arched an eyebrow at James.

“Not yet.” James conceded, a bright smile splitting his face. “But just you wait! At that party I most certainly will win her over! You’ll see!” he declared, thrusting his mug into the air and very nearly spilling coffee all over himself.

“Yeah, yeah, just keep telling yourself that.” Sirius smiled, finishing off his coffee. “Now come on, you TA in half an hour and you still need to grab dinner.”

“And then are you planning on coming back here to see if the cute boy is working?” James teased with a knowing grin.

“Oh shut up.” Sirius flushed darkly, glancing at the counter that was currently being manned by a girl with short blonde hair. “Who would have thought that the cute barista would be friends with the fabled Lily Evans from your Chemistry classes. Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” James nodded, sounding fairly dreamy at the thought of Lily as he finished off his coffee and stood. “She’s so amazing. And smart. So very smart.”

Sirius laughed at the expression on his face, clapping James on the shoulder. “And if we don’t get moving you’ll be late to your help session, where you might just run into said beautiful, smart girl.” He pointed out, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “You gonna swing by the studio once you’re done?”

“Probably.” James nodded as they set their mugs on the counter and headed out the door. “You still working on that project?”

“Yeah.” Sirius sighed, pulling his jacket closed a bit more as they met with cold air and a biting wind. “My last three pieces cracked during firing and I just don’t have any inspiration for my painting portion. Everything I’ve done so far is just lacking a certain…something.” He sighed, shaking his head, and checked his phone. “He still hasn’t replied. That’s a bad sign, isn’t it?”

“Or maybe he’s just busy or his phone ran out of batteries?” James offered with a shrug as they approached the branch in the campus path that would take them to their respective buildings. “Try not to worry about it too much, okay? I’m sure everything’s fine.”

Sirius sighed, but nodded anyway, giving James a small smile and a quick hug. “Thanks, James. Have fun in help session. Teach those Freshman a thing or two.”

“Will do.” James grinned, saluting Sirius before they went their separate ways.

* * *

The basement of the library was nearly empty as Remus found his favorite seat in the back corner. He still had an hour and a half before his shift started and since Lily had a Chemistry help session to attend he had decided to come here, to the library, to use up his extra time. He pulled out his books and phone, plugging in his headphones so he could listen to some light instrumental music as he read.

He glanced at his messages icon, contemplating replying to Padfoot, but shook his head, trying to convince himself it wasn’t worth it. But what if Lily was right, like she often was? Unbidden, his mind wandered to the dark haired beauty he had seen again. James Potter’s friend Sirius. He was hot, Remus had to admit, and a fascinating person. And _way_ out of Remus’s league. Sirius was cool and self-confident, the complete opposite of Remus. There was no way someone like him would be interested in someone nerdy and skinny and… uninteresting like Remus.

He jumped, jerked out of his thoughts as his phone buzzed on the table top, flashing a new message from Lily.

Potter is here, being an arse like usual. 

Urgh, why does he have to be so smart and yet so incredibly stupid?

_You make it sound like you don’t like the fact that he’s smart?_

It’s not that, it’s just…

He does so well in class…

And in lab when he’s actually being serious, but with everything else he’s just…

SUCH. AN. IDIOT.

Remus chuckled to himself, thinking over the way his best friend had been acting as of late. If he didn’t think he knew any better he’d almost say his friend… actually _liked_ James Potter. But that couldn’t be right…could it?

_Careful now, Lily._

_It almost sounds like you may fancy the bloke._

This time Remus had to wait longer than before for his friend to reply, as if she was hesitant to answer what he had lightly accused her of.

Would that be such a bad thing?

Smiling to himself, Remus felt slightly self-satisfied at his hunch being correct. Although he’s had to listen to his friend rant about the bloke for months, his first impression of James Potter was that he was a decent bloke. A bit self-centered, maybe, and obviously loaded if his designer jeans were anything to go by, but he clearly didn’t flaunt it. And Remus may be biased, but he felt like a guy like Sirius, who he’d notice was wearing another pair of jeans covered in white dust and paint, wouldn’t be friends with a snob.

_No, not at all._

_It’s just a bit surprising, you never seemed to like the bloke._

It’s not that I don’t like him, it’s just…

He can be such a jerk to Severus sometimes.

And I used to hate him for it, but…

Well Sev has been awful lately and I…I might drop him. As a friend.

He’s started hanging out with a weird group of guys. 

I think they might be into drugs or something like that. 

_Really? Then…yeah, I’d agree. You should ditch him._

Remus grimaced to himself, thinking over how much he really despised Severus Snape. He had never understood why Lily was friends with him, but then again they had been friends in High School and she and Remus had only become friends their Freshman year of college. Maybe back then Snape was different, but Remus had instantly disliked him the moment Lily had introduced them. The teen was just… strange. He had looked at Remus as though he’d wanted to dissected him. Not to mention he had almost immediately mentioned Remus’s scars, which always rubbed him the wrong way. It was just common sense that you didn’t mention someone’s scars unless they brought it up first. And then, over the past two years, Snape and gotten, if possible, even worse.

He checked his phone when it went off again, surprised when the text wasn’t from Lily.

**I’m really sorry I can’t come.**

**I’d totally ditch the plans I had to meet you, but…**

**Well, you see, I’m hosting a party that night.**

**So I really can’t ditch that.**

**I’d really, really like to meet you, though.**

Sighing, Remus read over the words a few times, feeling something warm spread through his chest. Padfoot really wanted to meet him. For now…for now, that would be enough.

_It’s okay, really. Sorry I never answered, I was busy._

_Have a good day?_

**Yeah, it was decent. Struggling with a project but I think things will turn around.**

**You?**

**Besides nearly getting run over by a motorbike and all that.**

_Yeah, it was pretty good. Got an essay to work on tonight. And work._

_You got a busy night?_

**Maybe, I dunno. I gotta go back to the studio.**

**Work on that project.**

Smiling to himself, Remus glanced at the time glowing at the top of his screen. His eyes widened as he realized he only had fifteen minutes until his shift started and he still had to change into his uniform. So much for getting work done.

_Well I hope it goes well. Sorry, but I gotta go._

_Work calls._

**Alright, talk to you later Moony!**

Sirius hummed happily as he entered the coffee shop for the second time that day, his laptop and art history book in his backpack that was slung over his shoulder. He figured that if he was going to go get more coffee and wanted to stay long enough to hopefully talk to the cute barista—and learn his name this time—then he should bring something to work on.

He snagged a chair by the fireplace, setting his bag down on it before he headed up to the counter. When he noticed that the same girl from earlier was manning it he frowned, a bit disappointed. He was really hoping that the cute guy would be back. Before he could open his mouth to order, however, the girl's eyes widened. “Sorry, dear, one sec.” she said before turning on her heel and hurrying back to the kitchen.

From beyond the swinging door Sirius could hear low, arguing voices, a grumbled “fine”, and then the cute barista stepped through the door, heading up to the counter. He smiled slightly at Sirius, running a hand through his hair self-consciously. “Sorry about that. Dorcas had to…do…something.” He shrugged. “What can I get you?”

“Um, ah…” Sirius stuttered, the bloke’s sudden appearance making whatever he was planning on ordering fly right out of his head. “I…” he looked back up at the menu, brow furrowing as he tried to remember just what it was he liked. Finally he looked back at the barista, swallowing hard. Well, if he wanted to get to know the bloke… “What would you recommend?”

Remus arched an eyebrow at that, tongue coming out to wet his lips a little. “Well… to be honest I’m more of a tea person than a coffee person, but the caramel mocha is pretty good. Comes with whipped cream too, if you want, so that’s pretty nice.”

A bit dazed by the barista’s low, slightly rough voice, Sirius could do nothing but nod slowly. “I…yeah…sounds great.”

Remus laughed, a low, rumbling sound that gave Sirius shivers. “For here or to go?”

“Oh, uh, for here.” Sirius managed to answer, gesturing casually towards the chair he had reserved. “Just, ah, over there.”

“Sounds good.” Remus smiled, pulling down a mug from the rack behind the counter. “I’ll bring it over in a few minutes.”

Sirius nodded, staring at the bloke for a little too long until he arched a curious eyebrow at him and Sirius realized that he probably should be going to sit down…and work on his homework. Yes, that’s what he was supposed to be doing. Eventually he got his legs to cooperate and he headed back to his chair, resisting the temptation to bury his face in his hands the moment he sat down. _That was real smooth, Black_. He berated himself. What happened to his normally so smooth persona? Granted, typically when he flirted it was with girls who he wasn’t really interested in or blokes who were nothing more than a warm, hard body against his. He’d never felt so…attracted to someone, both body and soul. And what that barista did to his brain… well, he’d never quite felt like that before.

Remembering that he was supposed to be working on his art history essay, _not_ obsessing over a cute bloke, Sirius pulled out his laptop and textbook, settling down to work…or at least appear busy. Five minutes into him trying to figure out how best to start the essay there was a tap on his shoulder and he looked up to see the barista smiling nervously down at him. “Here you go…Sirius.” The bloke said and Sirius felt warmth spread through his chest when he realized the guy had remembered his name.

“Ah, thanks.” He smiled a bit at him and the barista nodded before starting to shuffle away. Luckily, Sirius remembered the other thing he had meant to do while at the coffee shop and he quickly shouted after the retreating back. “Wait!”

The barista stopped, slowly coming back over to him. “Yes? Is the coffee not to your liking.”

“Oh, oh no!” Sirius shook his head. “It’s wonderful.” He said, even though he hadn’t yet taken a single sip. “I…I was just… what’s your name?” he blurted, red staining his cheeks.

A bright smile flashed across the barista’s lips and Sirius could have sworn he even saw a bit of pink decorating his face. “Oh, um… Remus.”

“Remus…” Sirius tested it out, smiling at the sound. “Remus…like the Roman myth?”

Remus blinked in surprise. “…yeah. Most people don’t make that connection. My parents are really into history and myths and stuff.” He said in way of an explanation.

“Clearly mine were into astronomy.” Sirius answered dryly, making Remus laugh.

“I think it suits you, honestly. Sirius…the brightest star in the sky…and the dog star.” Remus grinned. Sirius was about to answer when Remus’s name was called and the boy looked over to where a line was starting to form at the count. “Ah, sorry. Work and all that.” He turned to leave before he paused, gathering all of his courage. “I, uh… I get off at eleven. If you’re free then maybe we could talk? Or do homework together or something? This place is open 24/7 so we could get…more coffee?”

Sirius laughed, grinning brightly at Remus. “Yeah, I’d like that. I have to go do some stuff in the art building, but I’ll come back around eleven, yeah?”

“Sounds like a date.” Remus answered blithely. His eyes widened as he realized what exactly he had just said and he quickly scrambled away, the sound of Sirius’s surprised, and happy, laugh ringing in his ears.

* * *

**Jamie, I am having a conundrum.**

_ Wow, conundrum. Big word. Look who’s so smart.  _

**Oh shut up**.

_ Fine. What’s up? What’s causing you such a… conundrum? _

**Remus.**

_ …Remus? Who’s Remus? _

_ OH WAIT! IS IT BARISTA BOY?! _

**…Yes. It’s “Barista Boy”. He’s just… ugh. He’s so cute.**

_ So what’s the conundrum, Pads? _

**I’m meeting up with him at eleven tonight for coffee and talking and/or homework.**

_ And that’s a conundrum because…? _

**Because of Moony!**

**Isn’t it kind of like I’m cheating on him if I meet up with Remus?**

_ …are you and Moony dating? _

**Um…no?**

_ Have you met Moony? _

**No again**.

_ Do you even know if Moony is gay? _

**Not exactly? I mean, he very well could be bi.**

**I at least know he likes dick!**

**…or at least my dick ;)**

_ Ew, too much info, Pads.  _

**Sorry, not sorry.**

**Come on, Prongs, I’m sorry.**

_ You’d better be. Now stop worrying and have a good time with barista boy. _

_ Okay? _

**Yes, yes, alright. See you late tonight, okay?**

_ Dunno if I’ll still be up, but we’ll see.  _

_ Now have fun! ;) _

**Now who’s being trashy.**

_ You know you love me. _

__

**SIGH. Sadly yes, I do. I’m obligated to.**

_ Now I really have to go, Evans is giving me the evil eye for texting instead of helping these little brats. _

**Have fun with the science, nerd!**

Sirius pocketed his phone before he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, contemplating the empty canvas in front of him. For weeks he had struggled on the two-dimensional part of his semester-long project, creating a canvas full of paint only to look at it afterwards and feel like there was something missing. Something was always missing.

He groaned as he stared at the blank rectangle, burying his face in his hands. Normally this wasn’t so hard, but lately Sirius had been feeling like all of his inspiration just… disappeared. As he stared into the dark of his eyelids an image came to mind; light brown hair, amber eyes, and light, silvery scars. He shivered a bit, blinking open his eyes and picking up his charcoal pencil.

An hour and a half later he had a rough sketch on the canvas and for once he didn’t think it looked that bad. Out of a mired of lines he could just make out the shape of a wolf howling at the moon. Sighing, Sirius rubbed his hand over his forehead, taking a deep breath. He checked his phone, chewing on his lower lip as he saw it was already 10:30. He hated to stop working when inspiration stuck, but then again… maybe spending more time with Remus would give him even more inspiration?

Making up his mind, Sirius carefully put away his charcoals and packed up his canvas, making sure not to smudge the delicate lines. He grabbed his books and backpack, bundling up before he headed out the door and across the campus. He had a date to get to.

* * *

Remus sighed as the last customer in line was finally done, watching as the clock ticked down to the end of his shift. Since the shop was mostly empty and he had Dorcas’s help manning the counter he decided to pull out his phone, feeling a pang of disappointment when there were no new messages from Padfoot.

_Padfoootttt. It’s so late and I still haven’t started my homework._

_What is my lifeeeeee._

_I have 3 chapters to read still._

_And a review to write. I’m gonna dieeeeee._

He looked down at the messages, wondering if he was coming off as whiny, but decided that he didn’t care. It would all depend on if Padfoot texted him back. He smiled to himself as his phone buzzed in his hand and words appeared on the screen.

**I know the feeling, Moony.**

**Just worked for 1 ½ hours on my project.**

**Still have made little progress. The inspiration just isn’t there.**

**Still have half an essay to write.**

**Wanna pull an all-nighter with me?**

_SIGH. If only. My roommate will kill me if I do that._

_She always complains if I don’t get at least a little bit of sleep._

_Says it’s bad for me or something._

**Awwww, darn**

**She probably has a point, though.**

**I always feel like shit after an all-nighter.**

**…but at least the works done, and that’s what matters, right?**

_Yeah, so true_

Remus looked up from his phone when the bell over the door rang, unable to stop the grin from spilling onto his lips as he saw it was Sirius. He was about to text Padfoot that he had to go when his phone buzzed again.

**Sorry Moons, but I have to go.**

**Meeting up with a friend for homework**

**Ttyl**

_Haha, me too actually._

_Tttyl. Have a good night._

Looking up again, Remus saw Sirius smile down at his phone before he pocketed it and strode up to the counter. “Hey.” He smiled, hair wind-ruffled and cheeks flushed from the cold. “Looks like I’m a few minutes early. I’ll go sit over there, ‘kay?” he said, indicating the chairs in front of the fire again.

“Y-yeah, sure.” Remus stuttered a bit, trying to tap down his grin. “I’ll be over in a few. Want anything?”

“Uh…” Sirius looked over the menu, honestly not know what half of the drinks even were. “Surprise me.”

Remus blinked in surprise before he nodded. “Alright…if you’re sure.” He paused. “Just don’t blame me if you hate it, okay?”

Sirius laughed, a deep sound that made Remus’s heart pound just a bit more. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He said, giving Remus a little wave before he headed over to the chairs by the fire.

“So, who’s that?” Remus jumped as a female voice came from behind him, amusement evident in the tone.

“Oh, uh… no one?” Remus tried to answer, turning a bit to look at Dorcas.

“Oh yeah, sure.” Dorcas rolled her eyes. “Just no one would make you act like that and blush so hard I was afraid your face was going to catch on fire.” She waved away his startled look. “Don’t worry, he was blushing too, you’re all good. So… what’s his name?” she asked, sidling up to him and nudging him a little.

“Sirius.” Remus answered after a pause, grabbing a mug and starting to make Sirius a drink. It was a hard decision, which one he should make, but finally he decided on one of his favorites: white chocolate peppermint mocha.

Dorcas’s eyes widened and she gaped at Remus a little. “You…you don’t mean Sirius Black?”

Remus shrugged, giving her an odd look. “Um… I don’t know? I never asked his last name.”

Using Remus’s shoulder to try and prop herself up higher, Dorcas craned her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of Sirius. “Holy shit, it’s him!” Dorcas crowed, causing Remus to quickly put his hand over her mouth and shove her down behind the counter.

“Quiet, he’ll hear you.” He hissed, glaring at his friend, who was practically vibrating with excitement. “What do you mean, ‘it’s him’? Do you know him or something?”

Grinning, Dorcas nodded vigorously. “Yeah! Well, kind of. I know _of_ him. He’s, like, super famous in the art department. Like, this guy creates works like you wouldn’t believe. Not to mention…” her grin widened. “He’s loaded and so very, very bisexual.” She then frowned a bit, as if struck by a thought, and looked Remus up and down. “He doesn’t usually go for your type, though.”

“Great.” Remus rolled his eyes. “So he’s a talented, rich boy who’s not interested in nerds. That’s really what I wanted to hear, Dorcas.”

“No, no!” Dorcas shook her head quickly, tugging him up from behind the counter. “He’s totally into you! Look, your shift is over, so go bring the boy his coffee and your lovely arse, okay?”

Remus huffed, but did as she said, heading back into the kitchen to take off his apron with a mutter of “My arse is not lovely.” When he reappeared, backpack slung over his shoulder, he took a deep breath before bringing Sirius over his coffee. “Hey.” He smiled slightly, the corner of his mouth turning up in amusement as Sirius jumped at the noise, nearly dropping the book he had been engrossed in. “Sorry. I…I brought your coffee?” he offered, setting it down on the low table in front of the other boy.

Sirius smiled in thanks, taking a sip and practically moaning at the taste. “That is heaven.” He groaned, flashing Remus a grin. “That’s it, you’re my favorite barista here. The girl at the counter now made me one earlier today and it just wasn’t as good. You, my dear Remus, have a gift.”

Flushing at the use of ‘dear’, Remus glanced back towards where Dorcas was manning the counter. “Don’t let her hear that, or she’ll have my head.” He joked, self-consciously toying with the beany perched on his unruly curls. He tugged at one that had escaped, hanging by his ear. “What’re you working on?”

“Art history essay.” Sirius answered with a smile, glancing at the curl Remus was tugging on and holding up his book so that he could read the front cover. “Modernism versus the Renaissance. We have to identify which we think is more like ‘art’ and why. It’s…interesting. The history behind artistic movements is fascinating, but the way my Prof drones on about it can put even the most avid fan straight to sleep in minutes.”

“Ah… who’s your Prof?”

“Binns.” Sirius answered simply. “He’s, like, super old, but man does he know his stuff. Of course, during lecture he just opens the textbook and drones on through the chapters, but if you ever talk with him outside the classroom it’s amazing.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Remus laughed a little, chewing on his lower lip as he tried to come up with something else to say. It was just so hard… Remus wasn’t the most sociable of people and he never knew what to say to strangers or people he had just met, especially when the other person was interested in something he wasn’t very informed about. He hated making small talk, preferring to really delve into deep conversations and get to the heart of a person through conversation.

Remus noticed that the other boy hadn’t said anything more, instead staring at Remus curiously, head cocked to the side. “What?” Remus asked, sharper than he planned, and wrapped his arms around his middle as a protective gesture.

“Nothing.” Sirius smiled again, the expression making his handsome face that much more attractive. “I…well, I can tell you’re not really into art.”

“Sadly, no.” Remus shook his head, biting his lower lip again. “Don’t get me wrong, I love art. It’s beautiful. I just… I don’t really get the ‘deeper meaning’ of art. When I look at a painting of a bowl of fruit all I see is a bowl of fruit. And if it’s well done I’ll enjoy looking at the bowl of fruit, but I’ll never see that the bowl of fruit is really just a metaphor for man’s suffering or something like that.”

For a few moments Sirius just stared at Remus, his eyes wide, and Remus was worried that he had already scared the boy off his with ramblings. Then, to Remus’s great relief, Sirius burst out laughing. It was a glorious sight, that laugh. Sirius laughed with his whole body and soul, head tilted back, eyes alight, and his whole body shaking with peals of mirth. “You know what, barista boy? I think we’ll get along just fine.”

Remus arched an eyebrow. “I have a name you know. And what do you mean by that, exactly?”

“Oh, I know you do… _Remus_.” Sirius answered, practically purring Remus’s name in a way that made the other boy squirm a bit, dirty thoughts springing forth in his mind. “But I think Barista Boy suits you fine too.” He smirked a bit. “And I just meant that you and I think a lot alike. About art, at least. Even though I love making art I’ve never been into the whole ‘art must have a deeper meaning to really be art’. Most of the time I just make what I like and I bullshit the rest of it. To me it’s never made sense for an artist to purposefully put a deeper meaning into a piece of artwork since the viewers will never know what the deeper meaning is supposed to be unless the artist tells them. And at that point the deeper meaning really loses its point, don’t you think? I prefer it if people look at my work and find their deeper meaning in it. It doesn’t matter what I think my work means, it matters what my audience think it means.” He flushed slightly, realizing that he had been blabbering. James had warned him that rambling about his art and his personal philosophies on it wouldn’t be a turn on. “Sorry.” He added quickly. “I don’t mean to talk about it that much, it’s just…”

“It’s important to you.” Remus supplied almost immediately, a soft smile playing at the corners of his lips. “I understand completely. Get me started on Shakespeare and I can go on for hours.”

Sirius smiled a little at him, arching an eyebrow. “Can you really? I think I’d like to see that.”

“No you don’t.” a voice came from behind them and a body dropped down next to Remus, squashing him into the side of the armchair. “When he gets drunk he starts quoting Hamlet.”

“Ugh, Lily, why?” Remus groaned as he buried his head in his hands, face burning. Why did she have to show up now of all times, just when he was starting to get to know Sirius?

“Don’t ‘ugh, Lily, why’ me, young man.” Lily scolded, poking him in the side and shoving a warm mug into his hand. “I just came to pick up Dorcas and noticed you didn’t have anything to drink. Now drink your tea, be happy, and thank me.”

Sighing, Remus took a sip of the tea, humming in content as it warmed his bones and calmed him from the inside out. “Thank you, Lils.” He said begrudgingly, looking up from the mug to see his best friend and Sirius in some sort of intense staring content. “Um… Lils? Sirius?” he tried, but the pair ignored him, too deep in whatever it was that was going on between them.

Finally Sirius looked away, a blush staining his cheeks. “Yes, Evans?”

“Oh, nothing.” Lily said sweetly, patting Remus on the head before placing a rather possessive arm across his shoulder. “I’m so looking forward to that Halloween party you and Potter are throwing. Is it okay if I bring some friends, too? Except this one of course, he has no choice but to come.” Her smile was so sickly sweet that Remus could have sworn he saw venom dripping from her incisors.

Sirius swallowed, the motion almost audible, and slowly nodded. “I… yeah, that’s fine. They…they have to come in costume, though. House policy.”

“Won’t be a problem.” Lily waved him off, standing and pressing a kiss to Remus’s cheek. “Well, I’d better be off, Dorcas is waiting. See you at home, Remus, don’t stay out too late!” she sing-songed, giving Sirius another hard look before she strode off.

“Man, she can be scary.” Sirius breathed with wide eyes as he watched Lily’s retreating back and bouncing ponytail. “Maybe I should warn James off of going after her.”

“No, no, she’s a really kind person, once you get past her fiery exterior.” Remus shook his head, sipping at his tea. “Although… I really think he’s going about it all the wrong way, to be honest.” He admitted. “He might want to think about… I dunno, simmering down the ego might help him a bit.”

“Mmm, I’ll tell him to take that into consideration.” Sirius grinned, taking another drink of his coffee. “So… have you and Evans been friends for long? I don’t remember you from High School, so I’m guessing you two must have met here at College?”

Remus nodded, resting back into the armchair and crossing his legs in front of him. “Yeah, we met here. I was hiding in the library during the first week of classes, trying to avoid people when she ran smack into me, making me drop the stack of books I was bringing to read. Turns out she was actually running away from James.”

Sirius laughed. “I think I remember that day! James was annoying Evans so much that she slapped him and then went running into the Library. James wouldn’t be caught dead in a library, so he wasn’t able to follow her.” He grinned brightly. “It was rich.”

“So I guess it’s thanks to James that Lily and I became best friends.” Remus smiled a little, the irony not lost on him. “We got started talking about the books that I was going to read and now we’re sharing a flat. So… did you go to High School with her or something?”

“Yeah.” Sirius nodded, looking excited. He leaned forwards in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “The three of us, and our friend Peter, went to a boarding school together. James has been obsessed with her since we were 16 and he started actually noticing girls. The main issue was that at boarding school Evans was friends with this one kid, Severus Snape. He goes here, actually, majoring in Chemistry. He was always a bit… odd, but they knew each other as kids and so she continued being friends with him, even when he got mixed up in some bad stuff.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard about him. She doesn’t like talking about him, though, from what I’ve noticed. I’ve run into him a couple times around campus and he was just… really pretentious? But, like, the kind of pretentious bloke who you just know probably does some hard-core drugs and yet still thinks he’s better than everyone all because he got a full ride and is super smart.” Remus blinked in surprise at the words that had spewed forth from his mouth, startled by their sheer magnitude and the fervor with which he spoke. Normally he never shared this much with anyone, less alone some guy who he had just met, but there was just something about Sirius… “Sorry, that was probably a bit much, wasn’t it?” he apologized, cheeks staining red.

In response Sirius chuckled softly, shaking his head. “No, you’re all good. I like seeing you all impassioned, it’s… insightful.” He chose the last word carefully, not wanting to scare Remus off by telling him he was breathtaking already. Finishing off the last sips of his coffee, Sirius sighed, glancing at his unfinished essay that was up on the screen of his laptop that was sitting open on the table in front of him. He still had to finish the essay, read a chapter in their textbook, and struggle through his math assignment before he could go to sleep and it was already… he checked his watch, eyes widening when he saw that it was already half-past midnight. “Shit.” He breathed, shaking his head and closing his eyes for a moment, trying to ward off the weight of anxiety that had settled on his chest. He could do this, he had done it before. It was his fault anyway, being in this situation, what with the procrastinating on the math homework and deciding to spend time with Remus instead of working on his essay. It was definitely worth it, though, getting to learn more about the cute boy that he had set his sights on.

Sighing, Sirius reached out to close his laptop, slipping it into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “I’m really sorry, but I desperately need to get going. I’m already going to have to pull an all-nighter if I want to get everything that’s due tomorrow done. And I really do, otherwise there’s no way I’m going to pass my math class.”

“No problem.” Remus waved off his apology, standing up as well. “I really should be getting back to the studying as well, actually. Still have three chapters to read and an essay to finish, and Lily will have my head if I don’t get at least a little bit of sleep.” He smiled at Sirius, offering to take his mug up to the counter with a gesture. Sirius reluctantly handed it over, as if the absence of the mug signified that he did actually have to be leaving Remus’s presence.

“It was really great talking with you.” Sirius blurted as Remus turned to move away, making the other boy jerk to a halt in surprise.

Swallowing hard at the warmth that bloomed in his chest, Remus slowly nodded, turning a bit so he could smile softly at Sirius. “Yeah, I had a nice time.” He murmured, eyes on Sirius’s. “We should do this again…just maybe not as late.”

“Yeah.” Sirius agreed with a nod and one of his bright smiles again. “Well, see you around.”

“Yeah, see you.” Remus replied as the pair exchanged little waves before Sirius turned around and left the café. Sighing, Remus returned the mugs to the counter before settling back down in the chair Sirius had vacated to finish up his essay and do his reading. The chair was still warm and as Remus sat there he could swear he almost smelled a cloying, musky scent that could only be described as ‘Sirius’.

* * *

_ Did you even get any sleep? _

**Ughdihsdfjsdfoj**

_ I’ll take that as a no. _

**No, no, I got an hour or two. Fell off the couch, though.**

_ Was that that thud I just heard? _

**And the copious swearing that followed it? Yeah.**

**You still in the kitchen?**

_ Yup. _

**Make me some coffee.**

_ Spoiled brat. _

**But you love me. And you’re still going to make me that coffee.**

_ I know, git. Come get your bloody coffee. _

Sirius shambled into the kitchen, yawning and running a hand through his sleep-ruffled hair. “Morning, James.” He mumbled, happily taking the mug his best friend offered. He hummed as he slumped into one of the kitchen chairs, sipping at the caffeine-rich liquid and waiting for its energizing effects to kick in.

“Morning? It’s nearly noon, sleepy head.” James laughed, nodding at the clock on their microwave.

Jerking in surprise, Sirius swore as hot coffee spilled over the side of the mug, scalding his fingers and nearly causing him to lose his grip on the ceramic. “Noon?! James, why didn’t you wake me up earlier?!” he griped before he groaned, setting down the mug and burying his head in his hands. “So I slept through, what…Studio and Drawing?” he sighed, shaking his head. “Well, at least my essay was submitted online last night and I haven’t missed math yet.”

“See, there’s a bright side to everything.” James laughed, looking over at his best friend. “So… how was coffee with Barista Boy?” he teased.

To James’s surprise Sirius sighed almost dreamily, staring down at his coffee as he answered, a light blush sweeping over his cheeks. “It was… amazing? He’s just… he’s so cute. When he gets excited about something his eyes just light up and they’re just so beautiful.” He sighed again, taking a sip of coffee as he tried to play it cool. Or at least cooler. “I mean, he’s pretty cool.”

James, however, was not convinced by Sirius’s poor attempt and a sly smile spread across his lips. “Awwww, little Sirius has a crush.” He teased. “So, you going to ask him out?”

Sirius sighed, rubbing his face with a hand as he contemplated his coffee for a couple long moments. “I dunno… it’s just… I don’t know if I’m really ready for an actual relationship, you know? And then there’s Moony… and I don’t think someone like Remus would be okay with being just a quick hook-up.” He frowned at that, taking another drink of coffee. “Unfortunately. That arse of his… it’s perfect.”

Arching an eyebrow at Sirius, James glanced down at his phone that was laying on top of the table. “How’s Moony doing? Have you talked with him lately?” he asked casually.

“Unfortunately no.” Sirius shook his head, playing with his phone. “I was too busy last night what with Remus and homework… not to mention he didn’t text me either.” He admitted, trying not to sound too bitter. He finally picked up his phone, swiping it open and checking his messages. Sirius’s eyes widened as he noticed that he had not one, but five messages from Moony. Why hadn’t he gotten any notifications about them? Unless he actually managed to sleep through his phone going off.

_Padfoot I need your help._

_Padfoot? Padfooottttt._

_Come on, it’s not even that early._

_I thought you were pulling an all-nighter anyway._

_Sorry for being needy, I’m not usually like this._

_And I know we don’t really know each other that well._

_But I just… I really need to talk to someone about this._

_And my apartment mate isn’t any help._

_I just… I know I’m overthinking it._

_Sorry. Have a nice day, I guess?_

Groaning, Sirius rubbed his eyes, feeling guilt spread heavily through his chest. Here Moony had actually needed him and yet he hadn’t been there for him. Sirius felt like a complete wanker. He fiddled with his phone, trying to figure out how to reply to make sure that Moony understands that he wasn’t ignoring him.

“So, what’s he say?” James asked, glancing over at Sirius curiously. “You’re looking sort of… constipated?”

Shaking his head, Sirius let out another weary sigh. “He’s texted me five time, but I was so dead asleep that I didn’t feel or hear my phone going off. He needed my help with something and now probably thinks that I’m ignoring him or something. Ugh, when did life get so bloody difficult?”

“When you started actually paying attention to attractive blokes?” James offered rather unhelpfully. “Well, what are you going to tell him?” he finally asked after a long, drawn out pause while Sirius just glared at him.

“I dunno.” Sirius shrugged, chewing on his lower lip. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. How do I tell him that I wasn’t ignoring him and that I really wish I had been there for him, but I was sleeping and somehow managed to miss all of his messages without sounding like a needy, desperate, git?”

James rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, dear, you won’t sound like a needy, desperate, git. You never do. An over-dramatic drama queen, yes, but never a needy, desperate, git. Just explain to him what happened, I’m sure he’ll understand. And then maybe offer to help him if he still needs it? I dunno.”

“Yeah, I guess I could do that…” he nodded in decision, looking down at his phone screen. It had just flipped to the lock screen, the time shining out from his background, and Sirius swore. “Fuck, it’s almost one. I gotta run if I want to make it to math on time and still grab some food.” He jumped up from his chair, running out of their small kitchen. “Thanks, James! See you later!”

* * *

_Lilllyyyyy! Lils? Lilllllyyyyy!_

What? I was sleeping!

_Ohhh, sorry! Someone’s touchy this morning._

Sorry, the dreaded red death has arrived. 

What d’yah need?

_Padfoot isn’t responding._

Padfoot?

Oh! Is that that dick pic guy you’ve been texting?

Does he usually answer this quickly?

_Well… it’s been at least half an hour?_

_And unless he’s in class he normally responds by now?_

And it’s only 8 now, so he wouldn’t have been in class.

Hmmm.. maybe he’s sleeping? 

Just like I was when you so rudely interrupted it.

_I said I was sorry!_

_Think of it as payback for the number of times you’ve woken me up_.

Only to get you out of bed and to class on time.

_Well isn’t that what I’m doing?_

No! I don’t have class until noon, idiot!

This is my one day a week to sleep in, too…

_Sorry, I shoulda known that by now._

_So my problem: Padfoot._

Yes, yes, your oh so important problem.

He’s not responding and…?

_What do you think it means?_

_Does he hate me?_

_Am I annoying him?_

_I know we’ve only been texting for a couple of days, but could I have scared him off already?_

Remus. Stop. Worrying.

He’s probably asleep.

Wait until this afternoon and if he still hasn’t answered, then start worrying.

And send him another text. Maybe he just didn’t get the last one. 

_…I’ve already sent 5._

Oh Merlin, you’re hopeless.

Anyway. Stop worrying.

I’ll see you this afternoon at 3BS.

Going back to sleep.

_Thanks, Lils, you’re the best!_ _J <3 _

_Have a nice sleep!_

Don’t think you’re not still in trouble.

Being sweet will get you nowhere.

_< 3 <3 <3 ?_

Ugh. <3

* * *

**Moonbeam!**

_…Padfoot?_

**Yes, my favorite ray of light?**

**The one who reflects such majesty?**

**The light in the darkness that is my life?**

_You’re alive! …and acting very strange._

**I’m so sorry for not answering.**

**This morning. I was…kinda sleeping.**

**Woke up at noon, had math at 1:30.**

**Didn’t have enough time to answer.**

**I feel terrible.**

_It’s fine, forget about it._

**What did you need my help with?**

_Just forget about it. It’s not important._

**Noooooooo. What was it?**

_SIGH. Please promise not to make fun?_

**I cross my heart and hope to die a very painful, bloody death.**

_That’s…morbid._

**Stop stalling.**

_Alright, alright, fine._

_How do I know…when someone’s flirting with me?_

**Flirting? Ohhhh, does my moony have a crush? :D**

_I…I don’t know. I can’t really flirt. At least not well._

**I think you flirt perfectly well with me ;)**

_Oh shut it, you. In person. I can’t flirt in person._

_Over text is easy, I can’t see their face or the judging look I’m receiving._

**And someone’s trying to flirt with you?**

_That’s the thing. I don’t know._

_I don’t know if they’re flirting or if that’s just how they are normally._

_They’re very… touchy-feely with everyone?_

_And…flirty with everyone?_

**Haha, funny. Prongs says I’m like that :P**

_Good, so you have experience._

_Enlighten me._

**Well, if they’re flirting then most likely they’ll:**

**Take every advantage that they can to touch you.**

**Jump at the chance to be alone with yo** u.

**Maybe be even more flirty than usual?**

**Act interested in what you’re saying.**

**Share things that make them excited.**

**Try to get to know you.**

**Those sorts of things.**

**(Or basically what you and I are doing ;) )**

_Oh, stop teasing me, you sexy thing ;)_

**…what?**

_Hey, you started this._

_That was my attempt at flirting, dumbass._

**Ouch, who are you calling a dumbass?**

**Please never do that again.**

_What, call you a dumbass? ;)_

**You know what! And stop with the winky faces!**

_What, are they making you all hot and bothered, Padfoot ;)_

**How is it that you can act like this over text?**

**But then not be able to flirt in real life?**

**I would think you’d be a natural.**

_You’d be surprised._

_I’m surprisingly…ineloquent when it’s not over type._

_Here I can think through my words…_

_In real life, not so much._

_And you know when your brain and your mouth aren’t quite together?_

_And you stumble over words or they come out in the wrong order?_

_Yeah, that happens a lot with me._

_…sorry, I’m oversharing._

**No, no, you’re good!**

**Sorry, Prongs took my phone away so I would actually eat some dinner.**

**Instead of texting to “that smoking hot stranger”**

**I may talk about you quite a bit.**

**And I may have made some stuff up.**

_So I imagine._

_Otherwise I would worry about how you came to associate me and the words “smoking hot”_

_I am very far from those words. So very far._

**Nah, I’m sure you look fine. And maybe even /fine/ ;)**

_…now who’s the trash-boy?_

**Me. I’m the trash-boy.**

**I feel so accomplished.**

_Is that really something you should be accomplished about?_

**…will you judge if I say yes?**

_…no?_

**Then yes.**

**My parents would hate it.**

**And anything my parents hate is 10 times better by default.**

**So now I’m the trashiest of trash-boys.**

_…okay._

_I’m sensing some backstory here?_

**Yes, but none you’re gonna get right now.**

**Prongs wants to grab some coffee later, want to join?**

_Oh, I would love to…but I have work._

**Oh, sucks.**

_Yeah, I know. But it pays the bills._

**When do you start?**

_Five minutes, actually. I gotta go soon._

**Fine, fine, leave me all on my lonesome.**

_What lonesome? You have Prongs._

**Oh Moony, you wound me!**

**How will I ever go on without you?!**

_I’m sure you’ll manage._

_The manager calls, so I have to go._

_Talk to you later._

**Have a good night, Moonpie!**

* * *

The weeks passed quickly as Sirius and James’s Halloween party fast approached. Sirius tried to text Moony as often as possible, while also meeting up with Remus every couple of days or so. The pair had quickly become good friends, to Lily Evans’s utter dismay. They went from Sirius always coming to the coffee shop when Remus was working to studying together in the library every night that they could.

Sirius’s texts with Moony helped to keep his mind off of the bad parts of life, keeping the conversation casual. Although, as the words passed between them Sirius couldn’t help but find that there was a certain…undercurrent to their conversations. Like there was something more there if only he looked hard enough.

* * *

You ready for the party tomorrow, Remus?

_No._

Awwww, come on! It’ll be fun.

_Says you. You know I hate Halloween_

No, no you don’t. You used to love it.

_Yes, but that was before… everything._

But just think! Sirius will be there!

I wonder what he’ll be?

Oh! What if he’s a sexy fire-fighter?

Will you be glad you went then?

_How do you even come up with these things?_

_And… yes, I’d be glad then._

_But only because I could ogle him as much as I wanted._

_Not because I like the party._

Come onnnn. Now, what’re you going as?

_I dunno. Haven’t really thought about it yet._

You haven’t?! Remus, you only have a day! 

To find a costume! 

And you can’t just go as a tired college student.

That’s cheating.

_Ugh, do I have to?_

Yes. No arguments.

_Well what are you going as?_

Merida, of course!

_…Merida?_

From Brave! 

_Ahhh, the Disney princess with the bow and arrow, right?_

Fitting, don’t you think! 

It’s gonna take forever for me to curl my hair though.

_I’m sure you’ll look lovely._

_Now what do you think I should go as?_

Hmmm… I dunno.

A werewolf, maybe?

_A werewolf, really?_

Dude, your name is /Remus Lupin/!

That’s, like, Werewolf McWerewolf.

It would be great!

_Yeah, maybe. I guess I have some jeans and a flannel shirt I could wear._

_Come with me to the costume store?_

Hell, yeah!

I’ll be ready in a few!

* * *

Remus sighed as Lily squealed happily, tugging him over to the racks and racks of Halloween costumes and accessories. “Look at these! These are perfect!” she grinned, pulling down a pack of fake teeth and holding them up for Remus to see.

“Do I have to?” Remus whined, screwing up his face. “I want Sirius to think I’m attractive, not that I’m about to bite him.”

“Ha!” Lily crowed and Remus belatedly realized his mistake. “So you do want him to fancy you! I knew it!” she grinned, looking rather pleased with herself. “And who knows, maybe he’s into that kind of thing.” She smirked, giving him a wink.

Remus rolled his eyes, sighing in resignation as he took the teeth from her. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. What else?”

“Hmmm…” Lily hummed in contemplation, looking at all of the different costumes. Remus was glad that at least she wasn’t trying to get him to go wearing one of the advertised “sexy” costumes that left more skin exposed than it covered. Eventually she walked over to the opposite wall, pulling down a set of ears and a tail. “Here, this would be good. And maybe some whiskers? Or I can do your makeup to make the whiskers? Oh, and I think you should maybe put some slashes on the pants and the shirt?”

“No, no way.” Remus shook his head. “I like those pants and the shirt! I’m not going to cut them up just for some Halloween costume.”

Huffing, Lily relented. “Alright, fine. Then we’re going to a second-hand store to get you some clothes you can cut up.”

“Fine, fine.” Remus nodded in agreement. “I suppose that’s acceptable.” He looked down at the things was carrying, contemplating them thoughtfully. “This it, then?”

For a few moments Lily studied him, looking him up and down. “Think we could get you some paws as well?”

Sighing, Remus nodded, glancing around the store. “Yeah, I think so. Might as well go all out at this point.” He smiled a bit at his friend before wandering off into the depths of the store to try and find some fake paws. As he walked down the aisles of Halloween paraphernalia, his mind wandered to Sirius and the time that they had been spending together. He fancied the pants off of him, it was true. There was just something about the boy…he wasn’t _just_ attractive, he was also smart and funny and an absolute blast to spend time with. On top of that he was considerate and kind and Remus had learned early on that he loved his friends with an undying passion. He turned a corner only to run smack into the object of his thoughts.

“Fuck.” Remus swore as he stumbled, nearly knocking down the shorter body he had run into. He quickly dropped his stuff, grabbing onto the person’s shoulders as they threatened to topple over. “S-sorry, I-“ he blinked as he actually looked down at the person he had run into, only to be met by shockingly grey eyes and silky, black hair. “Sirius?”

Sirius looked up at Remus in surprise, a wide grin splitting his face. “Remus! Fancy seeing you here!” He glanced behind Remus and his grin got even brighter. “Oh, and Lily! James will be so pleased!”

“Don’t you dare get him or I will string you up by your balls, Black.” Lily growled from behind Remus and Sirius actually looked cowed for once.

“Yes, yes of course.” Sirius coughed awkwardly, face flushing. “What…what are you two doing here?”

“Getting Remus’s costume, of course!” Lily grinned, coming up from behind Remus and slinging an arm around his shoulder. “What about you?”

“Getting stuff for the party.” Sirius smiled, indicating his basket of things. “And the last parts of our costumes. What’re you being, Remus?” he asked curiously, glancing down at the items that Remus had dropped.

Looking embarrassed, Remus quickly picked up the objects, hiding them in his arms. “I, uh… it’s a surprise?” he said weakly and Sirius had the audacity to laugh.

“Fair enough.” He replied, glancing back at Lily. “What about you, Evans?”

“That’s for you to find out tomorrow.” Lily answered with a slow smile. “And you?”

“You two will just have to wait and find out.” Sirius laughed. Although he _was_ originally going to tell them, he had to go with the trend. “Anyway, it was nice running into you guys, but I really should get back to James. We still have quite a lot of party planning to do and James gets really stressed if everything’s not perfect.”

“No, actually that’s you, Siri.” A voice came from behind Sirius and he spun around to see James standing behind him, smirking slightly. “Don’t you remember yesterday? You were so distraught that the food wouldn’t be perfect and the decorations wouldn’t be just right and there wouldn’t be enough booze and that Remus would hate it.”

Sirius’s eyes went wide and he quickly tackled James, trying to cover his mouth. “I-I never said that!” he exclaimed, struggling against James, who was trying to throw him off. “Anyway, as I was saying, we’d better go.” He said quickly before he dragged a spluttering James away.

Remus and Lily exchanged a look before shrugging and going to the cashier to make their purchase. “So, what do you think Sirius will be dressing up as?” he asked, trying to sound casual as they left the store. “I mean, not that it matters…”

“Sure it doesn’t.” Lily grinned, hip-checking him playfully. “And I dunno, probably something fuck-boy-ish, to be honest. He just definitely seems like that type.”

“Really?” Remus frowned a bit, glancing over at him. “You really think so?”

“Well…” Lily looked thoughtful for a few moments before she shook her head. “I guess not really. Like, I don’t think he’s actually a fuck-boy, I just think that he likes to portray that as his image.”

Tilting his head to the side, Remus looked thoughtful as he contemplated his image of Sirius. “You know, personally I think he tries for more of a punk-rock vibe than fuck-boy. I mean, he’s a dork either way, but still.” There was a pause as Remus chewed on his lower lip before speaking again. “He does seem like the type to show off his assets, though.”

“Oh, and what would those be, then?” Lily asked with a teasing grin, looking Remus up and down. “Please, do tell.”

“Oh shut it, you.” Remus laughed, nudging her playfully as he shook his head. “You will get nothing out of me. You’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow what he does.”

“All right, I just will.” Lily huffed, stomping her foot a little for emphases. “Now come on, let’s go get you some clothes.”

_Ugh, shopping is the worst._

**Really? I…well, I actually think shopping is kind of fun.**

_Let me rephrase._

_Shopping for clothes with your female friend is the worst._

**Oh…**

**Yeah, that’s understandable.**

**She take forever trying things on?**

_No, actually._

_She just made me try on at least ten different outfits._

_And then declared over half of them to be horrid._

_And the other half to only be “okay”._

_Apparently I wear pants that are too loose?_

_And the same goes for my shirt?_

_I don’t get it._

**You know what, Moony, she’s right.**

**You gotta show off those assets man.**

**Give us poor plebeians something to look at.**

**And, honestly, the right pair of pants can make any arse look AMAZING.**

**And a tight shirt really makes those muscles stand out.**

_…if I had any muscles._

**Oh, I’m sure you do, dear.**

**Did you end up picking something, though?**

_Yeah, and then she proceeded to slash them to bits the moment we got home._

_It was really sad._

_I may have almost cried. I spent money on those clothes._

**Wait, wait! Slash them to bits?**

**Why?**

**Why would she do such a thing?**

_One word, Pads: Halloween_

**Oh! For that shindig you’re going to?**

**What’re you gonna be?**

_Not telling._

**Awww, come on? Why not?**

_It’s…embarrassing._

**What if I tell you what I’m being?**

_Still not gonna tell you, but feel free._

**Hmmm, you know what, no. I’m not doing that without compensation.**

**…I’ll give you some hints, though.**

_Sure thing. Go for it. Not gonna get you anything in return, though._

**Fair enough. I won’t press.**

**Ehem: It has the word “sexy” in it.**

**Its color scheme is red and black.**

**And it makes me look fabulous.**

_Hmmm… I’m kind of tempted to guess what you are now._

**Ohhhh, yes! Go for it!**

_Um… if you had said red, yellow, and black, I’d say sexy fireman._

**Sadly no. That was an idea, though.**

_Um… sexy male!Harley Quinn?_

**Nope. But that’s a good guess, actually.**

**I’ll put that on the list for next year.**

**Make James go as a female Joker.**

_Why a female Joker? Can’t have two blokes in a relationship?_

**Nah, that’s not a problem.**

**I rather enjoy two blokes in a relationship, if you get my drift.**

**I just want to see James in a wig.**

**It would be spectacular.**

**So, next guess! Don’t keep me hanging!**

_Okay, okay! Um… Sexy man-bug?_

_(like a lady-bug but male?)_

**Ohhhh, good idea!**

**Wow, Moony, you just know ALL the good Halloween costumes.**

**I’ll have to consult you next year.**

_So… I’ll take that as a no, then?_

**Yes. Not going as a man-bug. Next guess!**

_I’m running out of ideas here._

_Um… Sexy fire hydrant?_

**…no. Definitely not. That one wasn’t even clever, Moony!**

**Come on, try harder.**

_I’m working on it._

_Oh! Sexy pirate!_

**Aren’t all pirates sexy?**

_…that’s debatable, I feel._

**Nope, all pirates are sexy. No arguing.**

**Just… the SWORDS, Moony!**

**And the swashbuckling!**

**So very sexy. Makes me want to swoon.**

_I’ll keep that in mind._

**;) That was the plan.**

**Now come on, more guessing.**

_Um… sexy Kylo Ren? Please tell me no._

**No, you got me, Remus.**

**I’m going as sexy Kylo Ren.**

**With fishnets and everything.**

**I’m going to be so fabulous.**

_I really hope you’re kidding, Padfoot_

_Otherwise I may have to stop talking to you._

_For all eternity._

**Nah, I’m just kidding :D**

**I’d never do that.**

**Gross.**

_Okay, good._

_So, next guess…_

_Oh! Roman gladiator?_

**_Nope, that would also have gold in the color-scheme._ **

**_And I suppose you could also say my color-scheme has silver._ **

**_But that won’t help you very much._ **

****

**…and didn’t you mean a sexy Roman Gladiator ;)**

_Aren’t all Roman Gladiators sexy?_

**Touché, my dear Moony.**

**I’ll put that one on the list, too.**

_As you should._

_Oh, sexy devil._

**Why thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment ;)**

_Oh, oh no. I meant that as a costume guess._

**Well, darn. And there you got my hopes up.**

**And yes, with the pitchfork, huge phallus, and everything.**

_Really?_

**God, no. I’d look horrid with horns.**

**…and I don’t need a large, fake phallus.**

**My real one is just fine.**

_…yes. Yes it is._

**Going into fuck-boy zone?**

_Yeah, just a little._

**Good. Keep guessing.**

_Ugh, alright, fine._

_But this is getting me nowhere._

_I’m running out of ideas._

_Um… sexy Sweeney Todd?_

_Dear lord, who would come up with that?_

_Ugh, it’s scaring._

**Wait, are you googling?**

_Um, yes?_

**Googling isn’t allowed!**

**You’re disqualified, Moony!**

**Disqualified, I say!**

**Meaning that I win :D**

_I didn’t know there was a winner to this game._

**My dear Moony, if there’s not a winner then you’re not playing hard enough.**

**Everything has a winner.**

**Even getting up in the morning has a winner.**

_Then how come I always feel like I’m losing when I wake up?_

**Because you, my dear Moonpie, are a bona-fide loser.**

_Hey. Rude._

**But you’re my loser?**

_…slightly better._

_Well, if I can’t google then I’m all out of ideas._

_Why don’t you just tell me._

**Nope. I’ll send you some pictures eventually, though.**

_Will they be like the first one you sent me?_

**You really liked that one, didn’t you?**

_…maybe. Maybe not._

_I’m not telling!_

**Haha, you did!**

**I knew it!**

**My cock is just unresistable.**

**It’s okay, Moons, I understand.**

**And no, sadly it won’t be nearly as glorious as that first one.**

**…I could send you another, though.**

**If you want?**

**…or not.**

**Moony?**

**Moons?**

**Moonpie?**

**I’m sorry, alright?**

**I promise not to send you any more unsolicited dick pics.**

**I’ll only send solicited ones ;)**

**Sorry. That was uncalled for.**

**Moonyyyy?**

**I really hope you weren’t eaten by alligators or anything.**

**Please don’t be mad?**

**Mooncream?**

**I miss you.**

_HOLY FUCK I’M SO SORRY!!!_

**Moonpie?**

**Is that actually you?**

_UGH I’M THE WORST I’M SO SORRY!_

**So… you’re not mad at me?**

_No, no. It was my phone, it…_

_Okay, so it ran out of batteries. And I couldn’t find the charger._

_And then my apartment mate was all “it’s Friday, we’re going out.”_

_And I may have had a bit too much to drink._

_And totally crashed in the living room after puking my guts out._

_And forgot to find the charger._

_And then this morning I forgot it was out of batteries again._

_Until I checked it, like, two hours ago._

_And then it took an hour to find the charging cable._

_And now here we are._

_I’m sooooo sorry._

**It’s alright, all is forgiven.**

_Really?_

**Of course, Moonpie.**

**I wouldn’t get rid of you that easily.**

**I was more worried about your safety than anything else, to be honest.**

**So I’m glad you’re alive and were not in fact eaten by alligators.**

_Yeah, so am I._

**I’m also glad you’re not mad.**

**At me.**

**For asking if you wanted another picture of my dick.**

_…well, I wouldn’t say no?_

**Really?**

**-dick pic-**

_Fuck, warn a man, please! I was eating with my very female roommate._

_Who is now laughing her ass off at the face I made._

**Sorry?**

_But not really, right?_

**Yeah, I’m not really sorry ;)**

**Knew you’d like that picture.**

_It was very… nice?_

**Haha, nice adjective.**

_Shut it._

_I’m having a hard time processing words after that picture._

_Fuck, I’m still thinking about it._

**Thinking /what/ about it ;)**

_Fuck-boy. Not telling._

**Fine, fine, keep me in suspense.**

**Anyhow, I’ve actually gotta go.**

**Got a party to set up for.**

_Yeah, I should probably get going too._

_Got a party to get ready for._

_Ugh, the apartment mate wants to do my makeup_ _L_

**Make sure the eyeliner is so sharp it can cut men!**

_…I’ll keep it in mind._

**You’ll look fabulous, Moonpie, don’t worry.**

_As will you Paddy-cakes._

**…what. In the world. Was that?**

_Pet name?_

_Like when you call me Moonpie or Mooncream?_

**No. Not nearly as adorable.**

_Fine. Have a nice afternoon, Padfoot._

**You too, Moony! Talk to you later!**

* * *

**Did you get it?**

_ Yes, Padfoot, I got it.  _

_ Don’t worry your pretty little head. _

**I wasn’t worrying.**

_ Sure you weren’t. _

**I was just…concerned.**

**Do you think we have enough food?**

_ Yes, we have plenty of food, plenty of booze, and the décor looks fantastic. _

**Awwww, you flatter me** **J**

__

_ Why yes, that was my intension. _

**Prat.**

_ Drama Queen. _

_ Everything will be fine.  _

_ And aren’t you in the kitchen? _

**Um, yes?**

_ You couldn’t just walk to the living room? _

**No, too far.**

**And I’m frosting the cauldron cakes.**

_ … then how are you…? _

_ Wait, are you talking to yourself. _

_ I hear your voice. _

**Nope. Talking to the phone.**

**I’ve got voice text on.**

**It’s very conceited.**

_? _

**Conceited.**

**Fuck.**

**Convenient.**

**There we go.**

_ Oh, it certainly sounds like it is. _

**Oh fuck off.**

**No, actually, get your butt in here.**

**I need your help.**

“You texted?” James asked in amusement as he strode through the kitchen door to find Sirius leaning over their kitchen table, eyes fixed in concentration on a tray of cauldron cakes with a bag of green frosting in hand.

“Yeah, grab me the skeleton sprinkles.” Sirius answered without looking up from the task at hand. “Once these are done I just have to mix up the punch, put on the music, and get in my costume. How long do I have?”

James glanced at the clock on the microwave as he went to the counter to grab the sprinkles Sirius wanted. “Uh, a little over two hours.”

“Perfect.” Sirius grinned, finishing up the cake he was on and straightening. “I figure I can get suited up in a little under an hour, if everything goes well.”

Arching an eyebrow, James opened up the sprinkles container and started placing bones and skulls on top of the cauldron cakes that had been frosted. “A little under an hour? What the fuck will take you that long?”

“Beauty like this takes time, James.” Sirius huffed, rolling his eyes. “Something that you clearly will never comprehend.”

“Clearly.” James answered dryly. “Where’s Pete?”

“Costume store.” Sirius answered immediately, leaning down to get started on the next cake. “He tried to put on his costume early and it wouldn’t fit. He was very distraught. I told him he shouldn’t eat so much Halloween candy, but you know how he is…” Sirius trailed off with a shrug. “So he’s going back to get another one. Don’t know what he’s going to pick, though.”

“Just as long as it fits I don’t really care.” James shrugged, hopping up onto the counter. “What do you think Evans will go as?” he asked, trying to keep his voice casual, although he knew he’d never fool Sirius with that line of questioning.

“Hmmm…” Sirius hummed, looking thoughtful as he finished the last cake and gestured for James to get to work putting the sprinkles on. “I’d say something very far out of your league. So far out of you league that you’re not even playing the same sport.” He smirked, teasing his friend.

James scowled playfully at him as he began to add the sprinkles. “Hey! I’m not that far out of her league. I’m at least ‘in the ballpark’ so to say.”

“Yes, you’re a spectator and she’s a championship player.” Sirius laughed, washing his hands at the sink. He dried his hands off and took a step back, eyeing the treat laden table with a critical look. Finally he nodded, having deemed the treats up to his standard and the number enough to feed the number of people they had invited.

Shrugging, James finished up on the sprinkles and hopped onto the counter. “Hey, at least I’m spectating her. Do you think she’ll like my costume? The tights aren’t too much, right?" 

Smirking, Sirius shook his head. “No, they’re not too much. And as I’ve said time and time again, they make your arse look decidedly delicious.”

“Hey!” James smacked Sirius on the arm. “No ogling my arse! Only Evans is allowed to do that.”

Sirius laughed, shaking his head as he headed to the kitchen door, wanting to take one final look at the decorations and make sure they were up to his oh so high standards. “Don’t worry, love, yours is not the arse I’m after.” He winked at his best friend before he sauntered out the door to finish getting ready.

* * *

“Are you sure this is necessary?” Remus asked as Lily continued applying foundation to his skin. “Can’t I just go without the whiskers? I think people will get the gist of what I am anyway.” He said, glancing down in the mirror to the rest of his outfit. Lily had artfully ripped and singed his clothes so that they now showed quite a bit of skin, looking like that had be torn by claws. Where the largest of the rips were she had applied more make-up and fake blood, making it look like he had some still-oozing wounds and other partially-healed scars. Overall Remus thought that he actually looked pretty convincing, but he still could have done without the makeup being caked on his face.

“Yes, it’s very necessary.” Lily nodded, huffing as Remus’s nose twitched in irritation and made her miss a spot. “Now stop moving, you’ll mess me up.” She commanded and Remus immediately froze, although all he wanted to do was squirm as Lily continued to paint his face.

After thirty excruciating minutes Lily was finally done and Remus could see what he now looked like. As he stared into the mirror he found his eyes going wide in amazement. The transformation Lily had accomplished was…amazing. There was no other word for it. Somehow his eyes looked larger, his cheek-bones more defined, and there was an almost feral look about him. He turned his head a bit to the side, making out the whisker marks that were subtle, yet somehow made everything else work. Whatever Lily had done with the foundation made him look slightly tanner, yet dirty, like he had been running through the woods all night. To top it all off she had got him some colored contacts as a surprise and they made his irises look yellow and his pupils elongated. He looked awesome.

“Wow.” Remus breathed before he turned around to grin at Lily. “This looks fantastic! You’re the best, Lils." 

“Of course I am.” Lily smirked, looking pleased with herself. “Now, I put some setter on top of all the makeup, but it takes a while to dry, so please try not to touch your face for at least half an hour, okay?” Once Remus had nodded she smiled, checking her watch. “We’ve got thirty minutes until it starts and I figure we can be a half hour late, if we want. Think you can get ready the rest of the way without my help?”

“Yeah, I think I got it.” Remus nodded with a smile. “It’s just the ears, tail, and paws. Not too bad. You go get ready, okay? You’re going to look stunning.”

“Thanks, love.” Lily hummed, ruffling Remus’s hair before she turned and left the bathroom.

Remus looked at himself one more time in the mirror, once again floored by how different he looked. He pulled out his phone, contemplating snapping a picture to send Padfoot, but decided against it. He wasn’t sure if they were quite at the picture-sending stage yet, well… pictures of something other than cocks, that is. He did want to talk to Padfoot, though, so he swiped open his messages and started typing.

_Padddssss! How’s the party prep going?_

**I’m donnneeee! Just gotta get my costume on :D**

_Woo! Way to go! When does your party start?_

**Thirty minutes. Yours?**

_Same. But I think we’re probably gonna be late._

_My apartment mate is coming with._

_And she’s gonna take forever getting ready._

**Oh! That reminds me! How’d the make-up go?**

_Amazing, actually._

_Like, it looks unreal._

_I don’t even recognize myself._

**Please tell me she set it?**

**That’s important.**

_Yup! Gotta wait half an hour for it to dry._

_Everything else is ready, though._

**I’m glad** **J**

**Anyhow, I’d love to chat but I gotta get ready.**

**Talk to you later!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next, Chapter 4: The Meeting


	4. An Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Halloween Party occurs. Costumes are revealed. Our boys finally get some alone time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Texting Guide for this chapter:  
> Sirius - bold  
> Remus - italics  
> Lily - underlined   
> James - underlined italics

Chapter 4: An Encounter

As they stopped in front of the address James had given Lily for the party, Remus toyed with his ears and tail, hoping that they were on correctly. They were a half an hour late, as planned, and as Remus looked up at the apartment complex he could tell that most of the units already had parties well underway. He could also tell, from the perfectly manicured shrubs outside the entrance way to the doorman waiting patiently for them outside of the lobby, that this place didn’t come cheap.

“I knew Potter was loaded, but I never expected this.” Lily murmured to him, sounding a bit in awe as they rode the elevator up to the top floor, where James and Sirius’s apartment was. Upon reaching their floor Remus was surprised to see that there were only two doors along the hallway.

“So… which is his?” he asked Lily. There must have been some sort of sound-proofing in the hallway because they couldn’t hear a single sign of a party going on in one of the units.

“62? So I’m guessing the one at the end?” Lily offered, sounding a bit overwhelmed. “Do you really think this is the right place?”

“It’s what Potter gave you, right?” Remus asked her, waiting for her to answer before he continued as they moved down the hallway. “Then this must be the right one. We’ll just knock or something and hope that one of them answers.”

Taking out his phone, Remus sent Padfoot a quick message.

_Padfoot. Dude._

_The people throwing this party are loaded._

_I feel so out of place._

**Haha, it’s okay Moony.**

**I’m sure you fit right in.**

_I hope you’re right, Pads._

Lily knocked on the door and to both of their relief it was opened moments later by a tall, dark skinned man wearing tights and a green tunic. “Lily-flower!” James crowed, moving forward to sling an arm around each of them and pull them into the entryway. “So glad you could make it! You look lovely, by the way.” He beamed, stepping back to look Lily up and down in appreciation.

In response Lily scowled, hitting James in the chest. “Stop checking me out.” She studied James for a moment and smirked. “Nice tights, Potter.”

“Thanks!” James beamed even more. “I knew you’d like them!” he exclaimed, oblivious to Lily clearing making fun of him. “Hey Sirius! Lily said they were nice! I told you!”

While Lily laughed, Remus felt his phone buzz and he looked down as the new message flashed across the screen.

**Srry, gtg.**

**Friend just arrived.**

**Gotta go work my magic ;)**

Remus chuckled softly, typing out a quick answer as he heard Sirius’s voice coming from another room. “Be right, there, love!”

_Good luck!_

_I’ll be rooting for you Paddie-cakes ;)_

He looked up to see Sirius smiling at his phone before pocketing it as he came into the entryway and he swallowed hard as he took in Sirius’s costume. How the other bloke managed to pull off an outfit like that Remus would never know. He took in the high boots, accented with two inch heels and fishnets, gaze sweeping up to the black mini-skirt with a little bit of red showing underneath and quite a lot of poof. Up further was an expanse of bare abs and a cropped black jacket. Around his shoulders was a draping expanse of red cloth, forming a hood and a cloak.

Sirius sauntered up to him, hips swinging a bit seductively as he grinned slowly at Remus, looking him up and down. “Looking good. Fancy seeing you here, Big Bad Wolf.” He purred, stopping in front of Remus with a hip jutting out. “Good thing I brought my axe.” He swung the piece of equipment up on one shoulder, making his biceps bulge rather enticingly.

“A-actually I’m a werewolf.” Remus answered, smiling a bit to show off his fangs.

“Mmm, very nice.” Sirius hummed in approval. _Damn, he’s so hot like that._ He thought, appreciating the bits of skin the tatters in Remus's clothing showed off.

“Sirius, stop undressing him with your eyes, be a proper host, and get him a drink.” James said, snapping them both out of their thoughts and studies of each other, and nudged Sirius to get him moving. “Now, Lily, tell me more about who you’re supposed to be?”

Remus followed Sirius deeper into the apartment, towards the sound of music and the rest of the party. “Sorry about James.” Sirius said, turning back to look at him. “He can be a prat sometimes, but he’s a good bloke.”

“Yeah, I know.” Remus nodded with a small smile. “It’s all good. Nice… nice place you’ve got here.” He said, face flushing as he tried to keep his eyes above Sirius’s waist and off of his absolutely delectable arse that somehow managed to look even better in the short skirt.

Sirius laughed, leading Remus to a table filled with an assortment of drinks. “Thanks. It’s James’s actually, given to him by his parents. So, what would you like?”

Remus blinked, looking over the table with a rather overwhelmed feeling welling up in his chest. He didn’t know what over half of the bottles contained. “I… surprise me?” he answered weakly.

Grinning, Sirius started mixing him a drink, pouring a couple different liquids from an assorted number of bottles into a mixer. He added some crushed ice and shook it with a grin, swinging his hips a little as he danced to the music, body undulating to the beat. Once he poured it into a glass and handed it over to Remus, eyes twinkling, he finally spoke. “So, nice costume.”

“Oh.” Remus blushed, ducking his head as he sipped at the drink. The alcohol seared down his throat and he started coughing, eyes watering. Sirius patted him on the back, chuckling lightly.

“Sorry, might have put a bit too much alcohol into it.” Sirius laughed, running his hand over Remus’s shoulders and giving him a light squeeze. Realizing what he was doing, he quickly pulled back his hand.

“Thanks.” Remus smiled slightly once he could breathe again. “Lils helped with it. She did my makeup and everything.” He gestured at his face.

“Yeah, it’s kind of creepy.” Sirius admitted with a chuckle, making himself a drink. “At first I didn’t even recognize you. She did a _really_ good job, I must say. The fangs are a nice touch, too.”

“Lily thought so too.” Remus smiled, showing off the fangs again. He braced himself before taking another sip of his drink, the burn not so bad the second time around. “So…” he looked around at all the people filling the room, feeling the floor shake beneath his feet to the sound of the bass blaring from speakers in the next room over. “It’s a great party.”

Sirius laughed, shrugging a shoulder. “We know how to throw one. Now how about you go grab some food in the kitchen and I’ll go see if I can grab us a place to sit, yeah?”

“Sure.” Remus nodded, looking a bit uneasy as Sirius left into the throngs of moving bodies. He sighed softly before pushing his way into another room and then another, finally finding the kitchen and a table filled with treats. Looking over the spread, Remus decided to take what looked like a cauldron topped with green frosting and a smattering of bones, along with some mini corn-dogs and chips. Chewing on his lower lip, Remus looked out the kitchen door at the pack of bodies and decided to stay in the relative quiet of the kitchen a little bit longer.

Munching on a couple of chips he took out his phone, opening up his thread with Padfoot.

_Having a good time?_

Remus didn’t expect to get an answer, but to his surprise his phone buzzed a few seconds later.

**Haha, I was just about to message you the same thing, Moons.**

**I am!**

**It’s fantastic!**

**And my friend looks super hot.**

**Like, how he was hiding that body under his clothes I have no idea.**

**You having a good time?**

_Haven’t been here too long…_

_But yeah, I think so._

_The friend who invited me…damn._

_So fucking hot._

_Like, I swear his abs are sculpted._

_He takes ‘sexy Halloween costume’ to a whole new level._

**Damn, looks like I have competition**

**Maybe we could share him ;)**

_Only if we share your super hot friend ;)_

**Fuck-boy**

_I try my best._

_Don’t think I’m as good at it as you are, though._

**I am a master. Takes dedication, Moony!**

**Not for the faint of heart.**

**Hmmm… my friend was supposed to come back and he hasn’t yet.**

**I hope he didn’t get scared off by my good looks and leave.**

_I doubt anyone would do that, Pads._

_Maybe go look for him?_

_If it’s a big party maybe he just got lost and couldn’t find you?_

**Yeah, good idea. I’ll go look for him.**

_Good luck! Go find that super hot friend!_

**Enjoy the sculpted abs ;)**

Remus smiled down at his phone before he pocketed it, picked his plate back up and made his way back into the fray. To his surprise he nearly ran into Sirius just a few steps out of the doorway, almost spilling his drink all over the shorter man. “Sorry!” he gasped, eyes going wide before his eyebrows furrowed. “I thought you were going to go find us a place to sit?”

“Don’t worry, I did.” Sirius grinned, taking Remus’s plate from him so he could take his other hand and drag him through the people. “But I was worried you might have gotten lost, so I decided to come find you.” He smiled, stopping in front of a small love-seat that was crammed into a secluded corner of what Remus thought looked like an entertainment room, a huge flat screen television hanging on one wall. He tugged Remus down next to him, sitting fairly close despite the relatively roomy piece of furniture.

“Well thanks.” Remus smiled back at him, leaning a bit against him, enjoying the closeness. “I probably never would have found you over here.”

“Mmm, knew it was a good idea.” Sirius hummed, passing Remus back his plate of food before he jumped up with a shout of “Peter!”. Remus jumped a bit at the sudden sound, watching as Sirius waved frantically until a portly boy with sandy hair came over to him.

The boy was dressed in a grey fleece onesie and sporting a pair of ears and a pink tail. “You called, Sirius?” he asked, looking unimpressed as Sirius grinned brightly at him, pulling him over to where Remus was sitting.

“I want to introduce you to Remus!” Sirius beamed, gesturing at Remus. “Remus, this is our other apartment mate Peter. Peter, this is Remus.”

“Ah, so you’re the one he’s been talking about nonstop for the past week.” Peter said in amusement, a small smirk flitting around the corners of his mouth. Besides him Sirius gasped in indignation, hitting Peter lightly on the arm, but the other boy just ignored him. “You should have heard him, Remus. ‘Will Remus like this? Oh, James, Peter, do you think Remus would like brownies or cake better? What about wine? He’s a classics major, do you think he likes wine better than beer?’” he imitated Sirius in a high-pitched voice. “’Hold me James, Remus smiled at me today! He has the cutest freckles, I just have to swoon!’” he swooned dramatically onto Sirius, laughing as the other boy pushed him off with a disgruntled scowl.

“I do not sound like that.” Sirius muttered, blushing violently.

Behind Peter came a female voice that made Remus want to run and hide. “You think that’s bad, Pettigrew? You should hear this one.” Lily came up behind the boys, pointing at Remus. “He’s just so dreamy, Lils! Did you see his jacket, Lils! Oh, he rides a motorbike, Lils! Hold me, Lils, he had his hair in a bun today!” she squealed, fanning herself with a smirk at Remus. “I’ve had to listen to that for weeks.” She scowled a bit at Sirius, pointing a finger at him accusingly. “And that get-up you have on, Black. I’ll be hearing about that for months on end. I blame you.”

“You’re just jealous because you don’t look this good in heals and a skirt.” Sirius smirked, brushing off his embarrassment with quite a lot of effort. Besides him Remus wasn’t doing nearly as good a job and was averting his eyes, his face beet red. “Admit it, I look great.” He did a little twirl, hips swishing lightly in a way that made Remus finally take his eyes off of the floor to take a good look.

“Yeah, you do, and now Remus is ogling your arse.” Lily laughed, winking at Remus, who nearly groaned aloud at the betrayal.

“As he should.” Sirius grinned, looking over his shoulder and winking down at Remus. “My arse is just as fabulous as the rest of me.” He paused, looking thoughtful. “Maybe even more so.”

“Lilyyyy.” Came a sing-song voice and moments later James flounced over, slinging an arm casually around Lily’s shoulder. “There you are my Lily-Flower. I was wondering where you ran off to.”

Remus saw Lily roll her eyes at the gesture, although he could have sworn that he saw Lily lean a bit into James’s side. “I’m not your Lily-Flower.” She growled, glaring a bit up at him. “And I came to see how my dear friend Remus was doing with his boy-toy.” She grinned, extracting herself from James’s slight embrace to flounce over to Remus, red curls bouncing. “Glad I did. You can’t have him, Black, Remus is mine.”

Sirius sighed dramatically, putting his hand over his heart. “Oh you wound me, Evans. Can’t we share?” he pouted, flopping back down next to Remus and stretching out, casually laying his arm on the seat back behind Remus’s head. “I bet Remus would want you to share.”

“Mmm, but does he really get a say?” Lily smirked, perching herself on the arm of their loveseat.

“I think he should.” Remus spoke up, reaching up to tug lightly on one of Lily’s curls, making it spring up and down. “You can’t keep me to yourself forever, Lils.”

“Mmm, but I can try.” Lily hummed, grinning down at him and running a hand through his hair. She looked up at James, smirking slightly. “Now Potter…you said you would astound me with your dancing skills.” She hopped up, holding out a hand to James. “Let me see what you’ve got. Whoever loses has to… do tequila shots.”

“Oh, you are on, Evans.” James grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her back into the crowd of people to where the dancing was happening.

“Wow, I never thought those two would get along.” Sirius laughed, fingers slowly creeping up into Remus’s hair.

“I wouldn’t exactly call that getting along.” Remus chuckled, shivering a little at the feel of Sirius’s fingertips skating along the nape of his neck. “I hope for James’s sake that she doesn’t challenge him to a drink-off.” He laughed, looking over at Sirius. “She may look tiny, but she has one of the highest alcohol tolerances I’ve ever seen.”

Sirius hummed in response, scooting a little bit closer to Remus until they were pressed side-to-side. “Well, I’ll take that as my cue.” A voice to their left made them jump and they looked over to see Peter still standing there, looking amused. “Have fun, you two.”

Remus watched as Peter scrambled off, a pink tail swinging behind him and he chuckled, resting back and closing his eyes. He jumped as his phone buzzed in his pocket and he glanced over at Sirius, who had his eyes closed and was sipping on his drink. He took out his phone, heart racing, only to see it was his friend Dorcas. Fighting down the disappointment that it wasn’t Padfoot, he opened up the message.

Looking goooood, Lupin!

Loving the teeth!

And who’s the arm candy? Hot DAMN! ;)

Blinking in surprise, Remus looked up to find a petite blonde heading towards them, a smirk upon her lips. She was dressed in flannel, with jeans, another flannel top tied around her wake, a fake axe in one hand, and a drink in the other. As she flopped down in a free armchair next to them, Remus arched an eyebrow at her. “Fancy seeing you here, Dorcas. What are you supposed to be?” 

The girl in question smirked widely at him, running a hand through her cropped-short hair. “A card-carrying Lesbian, of course.” She answered, gesturing to the flannel. “Don’t have to ask what you are, wolf-boy.” She looked over at Sirius, looking him up and down. “And you are…?”

“Sexy Little red Riding Hood.” Sirius answered, casually resting a hand on Remus’s shoulder as he sat up a bit, looking over at Dorcas. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Mmm, no.” Dorcas hummed, tilting her head to the side as she regarded Sirius. “I would have remembered looks like that. I’m Dorcas Meadows, Marlene’s girlfriend.”

“Oh!” Sirius nodded, a smile flashing upon his lips. “You’re _Marlene’s_ Dorcas! And, if I remember correctly, you work at the same café as Remus here, yes?” When she nodded in confirmation he continued. “Brilliant. Where _is_ Marlene, by the way? I think she and Remus would get along fabulously.”

Dorcas arched an eyebrow at Sirius, looking unimpressed, but it was Remus who spoke up. “I’ve already met Marlene, actually.” He said casually, shrugging a shoulder. “We get together every weekend to watch movies.”

“Not to mention he and Marlene dated Senior year of High School.” Dorcas smirked, looking pleased when Remus began to splutter and turned a lovely shade of red.

Turning to look at Remus, Sirius arched an eyebrow, a flutter of panic going through his chest before he realized that he also liked girls as well as boys and that Remus could just be bisexual like him. “So that makes you…?”

“Very, very gay.” Remus answered quickly. “I went through a…rough patch in High School and was trying to, um… change who I was?” he chewed on his lower lip, ducking his head. “Clearly, though, it didn’t work out.”

“Because she met me and just couldn’t resist.” Dorcas smirked, leaning over to press a light kiss to Remus’s cheek. “And after quite a bit of counseling Remus came to terms with the fact that no woman will ever turn him on like a sculpted man will.”

“Hey!” Remus slapped her arm, turning an alarming shade of red. “Oh look, Marlene is coming! Doesn’t she just look lovely?” he said quickly, pointing out a tall, auburn haired girl who was indeed approaching them. She was decked out in a bee costume, complete with stinger and, for some odd reason, the word “sexual” embroidered on the front.

“Dorcas, darling, you found Remus!” Marlene cooed, plopping down onto Dorcas’s lap and accidently whacking her in the face with a sparkling wing. They giggled for several moments as they tried to situate her costume in a more comfortable fashion for the both of them. Dorcas wrapped her arms around Marlene’s waist, resting her head on her shoulder, and they both regarded Sirius and Remus with intrigued, and slightly sly expressions. Not for the first time that night Sirius bemoaned his meddling friends and the fact that they wouldn’t let him have time alone with Remus, which was all he was asking for.

“So, what’s up with the get-up, Marls?” Sirius finally asked, hoping that he could speed things along so that they would leave and he could start cozying up to Remus again.

“I’m Bee-sexual, get it?” Marlene answered with a grin, gesturing to the word across her front.

“Ah, so you both dressed up as your sexualities.” Sirius grinned, nodding his head in agreement that that was a rather clever idea. “Genius. Sorry, but I didn’t get the memo.”

Marlene giggled, looking Sirius up and down. “Siri, with that get up I’d think that you had.” She teased and Sirius pretended to be affronted, taking the chance to drag a hand along Remus’s shoulder.

“You have to admit, I look good, though.” Sirius grinned, striking a pose and being rewarded by a rumbling laugh from Remus that never ceased to make his body tingle.

“Very good.” Remus smiled at him, resisting the temptation to peck a kiss on his cheek. The couple-y atmosphere from the two girls must have been rubbing off on him and he just barely kept himself in check. “You should have Lily do your eyeliner some time, though. The right one is a bit lopsided.”

Sirius gasped in indignation, whipping his phone out and using the black, reflective screen as a mirror. He checked his right eyeliner thoroughly before growling under his breath. “Remus, you bastard. You have me worried!”

Remus laughed, nudging Sirius gently. “Your reaction was priceless, though.” He was about to say more when there was a crash from another room and a bunch of swearing.

Sighing, Sirius stood, shaking his head. “I should probably go check that out. James is probably too distracted by his ‘Lily-Flower’ to care.” He said, moments before a very familiar voice rang out from where the commotion was.

“No! I will not admit defeat, Evans!” James yelled, his words only slightly slurred. “A battle of wits! No, of kits! Agh, of drinks!” he finally managed to get out.

Remus’s eyes went wide and he leapt to his feet. “No, no. I am not letting them do that.” He shook his head as Sirius hurried off, and took off behind him.

Still on the armchair, Dorcas and Marlene exchanged a look, smirking at each other. “So, how long until they’re together?” Dorcas asked her girlfriend casually, playing with a strand of her hair.

“I’d give them… three months. Remus is stubborn, but not even he can fight a body like that.”

The two giggled conspiratorially as in the background a chant had been taken up by the people present. “CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!”

* * *

_Ugh, my head._

**Rough night, Moons?**

_I guess you could say that, yeah._

_Roommate decided to join a drinking contest._

_Got in a fist-fight._

_Was completely smashed._

_And elbowed me in the head._

_Had to stay at the host’s place cause there was no way I could get her drunk ass home by myself._

**Sounds like fun :P**

**How’d things go with pretty-boy?**

_Eh…_

_Things were good?_

_Friends kept interrupting_

_So I didn’t get to spend much 1-on-1 time with him._

**;)**

_ARGH! Not that 1-on-1 time._

_Trash boy_

**You love it**

_I have to say I do ;)_

**So, staying at the host’s place?**

**Was the host pretty-boy?**

_…yes?_

_Why?_

**Well… are you in his bed?**

_Oh._

_No._

_Damn, should have thought of that._

_Sleeping with the roommate on a couch._

_Well, she’s sleeping._

_I’m texting you_

_Obviously_

**Obviously :P**

_How’d it go with your super-hot friend?_

**Oh. Um… pretty well? I think?**

**Lots of flirting.**

**Friends kept interrupting us, too.**

**He’s actually staying the night (though sadly not in my bed** **L )**

**The friend he came with got supppper drunk.**

**…hey, just like your friend!**

_Ha! Yeah, I’m sensing a trend._

_When there’s booze around people get piss drunk :P_

**You seem pretty coherent to me.**

**Or are you not one of those people?**

_Nah, I drank some._

_But I have to be careful around alcohol_

_So I didn’t have too much._

_You’re also pretty coherent. You don’t party hard?_

**Oh no, I do.**

**I party soooo hard, Moony ;)**

**But I wanted to stay sober for the super-hot guy.**

**Figured it wouldn’t really do for me to be tripping over my feet**

**Slurring my words**

**Or puking all over him, you know?**

_Yeah, that’s probably for the best._

**One day, though, you’ll be privy to the joys of a drunk texting Padfoot.**

_Should I be worried._

**No? Maybe? Probably?**

_…You’re not a very reassuring person, you know that, right?_

**I’m hurt, Moons. You don’t think I’m reassuring?**

_No, no I do not._

_Ugh, the friend is trying to cuddle._

_And her breath smells god awful._

**Awww, you don’t want to cuddle with the roomy?**

_No. The roomy is female._

_I don’t like cuddling females._

**Awww, why not?**

**Cuddling females is nice.**

_Nope, too squishy._

_…I take it you’re bi, then?_

**Pan, but close enough.**

**…is that a problem?**

_No, no, not at all._

_Sorry, the roomy was doing an octopus impression_

_I had to extract my arms to text._

_It was getting really uncomfortable._

**Ah, I see.**

**HOLY SHIT!**

_What? What’s wrong?_

**Oh, nothing, nothing.**

**I just realized**

**Like, Prongs is my token straight friend.**

**In my friend group.**

**We’ve got a lesbian, bi, ace, and pan.**

**And now a gay guy (that’s you!).**

_Haha, wow._

_I guess they aren’t lying that the queer kids flock together._

_…Are you implying I’m part of your friend group?_

**OF COURSE!**

**You even have a nickname and everything!**

_Ah yes. I knew that nickname was an initiation to your gang._

**We’re not a gang!**

_I suppose you’re not. You guys don’t even have matching jackets._

**Well…**

_Wait. Do you have matching jackets?_

**Maybe?**

**Although Wormtail never wears his, the wimp.**

**Apparently it’s too “punk” for his nerd sensibilities.**

**He’s more of a sweater person, like you.**

_Yay, we can be sweater buddies :P_

**Don’t let him hear you say that, he’ll take you seriously.**

**Probably make matching sweaters.**

**Friendship bracelets.**

**The works**

_That’s it, I want to be Wormtail’s friend._

_You have been replaced._

**But Moooonnnyyyyyyy**

**We’re supposed to be friendsssss**

**You’re my Moonpie.**

**My Mooncream.**

**The Moon…pumpkin?**

_That’s a bit of a stretch._

**Yeah, I know. It was a bit hard.**

_Is it the only thing hard? ;)_

**I walked right into that one, didn’t I.**

_Yes, yes you did._

**Oh shut up. My brain’s still a bit fuzzy.**

_So I have to ask…Wormtail?_

**It’s a long story.**

_I have time. Not gonna be able to sleep for a while_

_Not with pretty-boy sleeping so close._

**Got yourself a problem there, Moons? ;)**

_Oh you’re one to talk._

_Actually, I want ALL the backstories._

_Yours and Prongs’s._

_Spill._

**SIGH. Fine.**

**So…Wormtail.**

**It all began back in the first year of High School.**

**Wormtail owned a small, grey rat.**

**Very tame, loved to be held, the thing was absolutely adorable.**

**Well, one day in second year Wormtail comes to school in tears.**

**His rat was missing. He searched everywhere for it.**

Well where was it?

**Wormtail’s on the… chubbier side, you know?**

**We found it… in his back pocket…**

**Squished.**

Oh gross!

**Yeah. It’s tail was hanging out of the pocket.**

**So… Wormtail.**

_The poor guy. How’d he take it?_

**Oh, he was distraught for weeks.**

**Never mention Scabbers to him, okay?**

**Or rodents in general.**

_Note taken. I’ll remember that._

_Now Prongs?_

**Don’t worry, his is a less…traumatizing story.**

**Well… less disgusting, at least.**

_Why am I worried?_

**You should be.**

**So…Prongs.**

**Prongs got his nickname in Second Year too.**

**We were doing this play for school about nature.**

**It had deers, like Bambi.**

**So of course Prongs gets the part of a stag, complete with antlers and everything.**

**Well, he couldn’t get the antlers to stay on, so…**

**He glued them on for the first show.**

**With superglue. By accident.**

_Oh my god._

_No way._

_How long were they stuck for?_

**WEEKS! It was great!**

**People started calling him Prongs and thank god it stuck.**

_So….Padfoot?_

**Yes?**

_Padfoot backstory?_

**Ugh, I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.**

_Nope. Spill._

**Okay, so…**

**I may have gotten SUPER drunk when I turned 18.**

**Went back to Prongs’s house…**

**They have this big black dog, named Snuffles.**

**Apparently I started crying over Snuffles and cuddling him.**

**I was crying over his little ‘padfoot’**

**Needless to say it stuck.**

_Awwwwwwwww! That’s so cuteeee!_

**Shut up.**

_Your nickname is sooo adorable. You’re adorable._

_Just… Padfoot. So cute._

**Ugh, be quiet**

_I making you blush?_

**…Maybe?**

_Nailed it._

**Don’t be so pleased.**

_Oh, I’m so very pleased._

_Uh oh._

_The roomy is waking up and she’s not happy._

_Okay, I have to stop texting and sleep._

_The light from my phone is hurting her head._

_G’night._

**Good night, Moony!**

**Good luck with pretty-boy!**

_Haha, you too._

**< 3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next, Chapter 5: A Discovery


	5. A Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus freaks out. Sirius makes an alarming discovery. Lily and James get some... bonding time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Texting Guide for this chapter:  
> Sirius - bold  
> Remus - italics  
> Lily - underlined  
> James - underlined italics

The month of November passed quickly and all too soon winter was upon them. December arrived with snow storms, freezing cold, and a Sirius finding himself in quite a predicament.

“James, this is a problem.” Sirius said from where he was lounging on the couch in their living room. James was lying on his stomach on the floor, flipping through his Chemical Processes textbook as he studied for his upcoming last exam before the final in three weeks.

“What’s a problem?” James asked, not even bothering to feign interest in whatever Sirius was being dramatic about.

“This whole thing with Remus and Moony.” Sirius answered, rolling over so he could lean over the arm of the couch to look down at James.

“What, the fact that you’re flirting with both of them?” James asked, actually taking a moment to look up at Sirius with an arched eyebrow. “Well, which one do you like?”

“Both of them?” Sirius answered weakly. He sighed, shaking his head. “I…I really don’t know. Like, I love spending time with Remus and he’s just so freaking cute I’m going to lose my mind. But talking with Moony… he just makes everything bad go away. I could talk with him for hours and never get bored.”

For a few moments James was silent, looking thoughtful. “Have you tried to meet up with Moony?”

Sirius nodded. “Yeah. He’s always busy with something. Either that or he doesn’t actually want to meet up…” he trailed off, looking a bit horrified at the thought. “What if he doesn’t like me, James?”

James rolled his eyes at that, closing his book. “Does he text back whenever you start a conversation with him.”

“Yeah.” Sirius nodded again. “Almost immediately.”

“Then clearly he’s interested in you.” James answered. “Just try to meet up with him and then you can decide which one you want to go after, yeah?”

Slowly Sirius nodded in agreement, smiling a bit. “Yeah, good idea.” He checked his watch and his eyes widened. “Fuck, I gotta go. I told Remus I would meet him at the coffee shop to study.” He said, getting up and stretching out his back, which cracked pleasantly.

“Ah, yes. To ‘study’.” James smirked over at him. “You really mean you’re going to go drink coffee and make eyes at each other.”

Sirius flipped him off, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and grabbing his bike keys and helmet. “Wanker. See you later.”

“Don’t do anything I won’t do!” James called after him, laughing when he heard the door slam shut behind him.

* * *

_ Hey Evans, it’s James. _

What do you want, Potter?

And how did you even get my number?

_ I have my ways _ **. **

By which you mean you’re a huge stalker.

What do you want?

And I swear to god if you use even a hint of a pick-up line I will kick you into next month.

_ Don’t worry Evans. _

_ This is about Remus. _

What about Remus?

_ What are his feelings on Sirius? _

His…feelings?

We’ve never really talked about it.

_ Well…do you think he likes him? _

What’s this about, Potter?

_ They’re meeting up for coffee. _

So?

_ So Sirius is really into the guy. _

_ I’ve never seen him take this much of an interest in anyone before. _

Am I supposed to be honored, or something?

Is Remus supposed to be?

_ No, not at all. _

_ Remus has been…good for Sirius. _

_ Like, really good. _

_ I haven’t seen him this happy in…ages _

Really?

To be honest…

I’ve never seen Remus this social with someone before, either.

He usually doesn’t trust someone this easily.

_ So you agree, then? _

_ That they would be good for each other? _

__

…can’t believe I’m saying this

but yes.

They’d be good for each other.

_ Great. _

_ Brilliant _

And this means…

What exactly?

_ Well, Sirius is also texting this guy. _

_ Kinda flirting, I guess _

_ Codenamed “Moony” _

****

_ Evans? _

__

_ Evans you still there? _

__

_ Evannnnsssss _

HOLY SHIT

_ You’re alive! _

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

_ What is it? _

REMUS IS MOONY

_ WHAT?! _

A month or two ago Remus started texting with this guy.

Codenamed “Padfoot”

_ HOLY FUCK THAT’S SIRIUS _

And Remus is Moony

_ So they’re texting each other _

_ But think they’re texting other people _

Looks like it, yeah

_ So what do we do? _

We can’t tell them.

You’d better keep your mouth shut, Potter.

I’m warning you.

_ Why not? _

They’ll find out in their own time

We can’t interfere

** Ugh, fineeeee **

I hate to say this, Potter, but…

We need to meet to talk about this

_ Wait, really?! _

Don’t get excited

Meet me at the café on 8th street

8pm

Don’t be late

_ I won’t! Thanks Evans! _

* * *

Another week passed and Sirius was getting antsy, trying to figure out what he should do about the whole “Moony vs. Remus” thing. He tried time and time again to get Moony to meet up with him, but what with finals coming up they were both too busy to find any time that worked for the both of them. Finally, at long last, they were able to find a time that worked: the weekend before the first day of Holidays.

A week before their prospective meeting, Sirius was once again meeting up with Remus for coffee after his shift at The Three Broomsticks. He sat down at his typical seat, pulling out his laptop as he waited for Remus to finish up his shift and make them their coffees. He opened up the essay he was working on before pulling out his phone.

**Pretty excited about next week!**

To Sirius’s surprise an answer came almost immediately.

_Haha, me too!_

_Love to chat, but I’m meeting a friend_

_Talk to ya later!_ _ <3_

Sirius looked up to see Remus walking towards him, a cup of coffee clenched in each hand and a smile upon his lips that made Sirius’s insides twist pleasantly. “Hey there.” Remus said, handing him his coffee. “How’s that essay going?” 

“Slowly.” Sirius sighed, rolling his neck and taking a sip of his drink. He hummed in content at the flavor, setting the cup on the table between them. “I mean, it has to be twenty pages and I’ve only got five. Ugh, I hate final papers.”

“Yeah, they suck.” Remus nodded in agreement. “My final essay for Medieval Classics is so awful. It’s just so… dull. I hate it.”

“I know the feeling. Like, I love art history and all, but… the essays are just so boring.”

“But that’s just a part of college, isn’t it?” Remus asked, pulling out a book from his backpack. “You have to do the boring stuff as well as the stuff you like. How’s your final project going? I know you said you were struggling a bit?”

Sirius sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I think I’m getting somewhere, though. You should see the sketches I currently have some time.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Remus smiled, nodding and taking another sip of his coffee. “Maybe after break?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sirius grinned, glancing over at Remus. “You got any good holiday plans?”

Remus shrugged. “I dunno. Gotta survive finals first, you know?” he chewed on his lower lip, looking down at his mug. “Probably get together with the extended family for Christmas.”

Sirius arched an eyebrow at him, shifting his body closer. “You don’t sound too pleased about that.”

“It’s not that I’m not pleased, it’s just…” he sighed, shaking his head. “No, I’m going to sound all whiney.”

“No, no you won’t.” Sirius reassured him, shaking his head. “I promise you won’t.”

For a few moments Remus stayed quiet before Sirius poked him and he finally started talking. “Well, it’s just… my extended family is very… roudy. And when they all get together… my uncles. My uncles drink a lot. And when they start drinking they… well they start asking… questions.”

Sirius frowned, rolling his mug in his palms. “What, what kinds of questions? Do they know about…” he gestured to Remus. “You know?”

“My sexuality?” Remus asked bluntly and Sirius nodded. “No. Only my parents do. So… yeah.” He looked down. “They start asking about girls.”

“That must be pretty awkward.” Sirius agreed, slowly reaching out to place a comforting hand on Remus’s shoulder.

“Yeah…” Remus murmured before he gave himself a shake. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be a downer. It just gets… trying, after a while.” He shrugged, forcing a smile at Sirius. “What about you, do you have plans?”

Sirius brightened, nodding vigorously. “Yeah! I’m spending the holidays with James’s family, like usual. It’s great, James’s mother makes the best food I’ve ever tasted.”

Remus frowned in confusion. “Are you not going home, then?”

The change in Sirius was almost immediate. Remus could practically see every muscle in Sirius’s shoulder tense and the way his eyes widened the slightest bit, his lips pressing into a thin line. “No.” he answered, voice clipped. “I’m not.”

Remus nodded, waiting for an explanation. When none came he chewed on his lower lip, shifting a bit uncomfortably. It was amazing how quickly Sirius had gone from the carefree, laid back bloke he’d gotten used to to a cold, hard shell of who he was before. “Oh, uh…okay.” Remus murmured, the air getting so thick with tension that he was having trouble getting himself to breathe. Ah yes, _this_ is why he didn’t do well with relationships. The moment things got tense every fiber of his being just wanted to run in the opposite direction. “Well, uh…” he cleared his throat, quickly grabbing his back and standing. “This was great, but I, I should…I should just. Finals and all.” He said lamely before hurrying out of the coffee shop before Sirius could get a word in edgewise.

Blinking in astonishment, Sirius’s shoulders relaxed until the slumped in defeat, followed by his head resting in his hands. Great, he’d bolloxed it all up. Again. And it was all his family’s fault. Again. Sighing, Sirius pulled out his phone, needing some solace from Moony and his quick wit.

**Fuck. I think I just messed things up with Super-Hot guy.**

He sent the message, hoping that Moony would reply quickly in his time of need and wasn’t lost in the written word somewhere, oblivious to his phone and Sirius’s desperation. He frowned as he heard a buzzing noise, looking up to see _Remus’s_ phone buzzing on the table top where he had left it and his half-finished coffee in his haste. Sirius’s frown deepened as he picked up the phone only to see the text _he had just sent_ flash up on the screen, with the word **Padfoot <3** above it.

“ _Shit_.”

* * *

**JAMES. THREE BROOMSTICKS.**

**NOW.**

_ Why? I’m kinda busy. _

**I’M HAVING A MENTAL BREAKDOWN**

**COME**

**NOW**

_ SIGH. Fine. But you owe me. _

**NOW!**

* * *

Sirius could have kissed James with how quickly he arrived at the Three Broomsticks. He looked up at his best friend and his facial expression was bad enough that James didn’t even tease him before he sat down and wrapped his arms around Sirius’s shoulder.

“What happened?” James asked softly, knowing that Sirius only let emotions like this show through his carefully created mask. James had only seen his mask break twice before in public—the day his parents disowned him and the day Regulus sided with _them_ instead of his big brother.

“Remus, he…” Sirius shook his head and handed James Remus’s phone. Taking a deep breath, Sirius looked up at James, his eyes wide and slightly maniacal. “Remus is Moony, James.”

James’s eyes widened and he had to take a few seconds to try and decide what he should do. Does he pretend that this is all news to him? Or does he tell Sirius the truth? Too late, James realized that he had been staring at Sirius, hardly reacting for far too long. Sirius’s eyes had narrowed and he regarded James wearily. “You… you knew. You _knew_ , didn’t you?!” Sirius accused, jabbing James with a finger. “How did you know?”

“Lily.” James admitted with a sigh. “You know, she’s finally giving me the time of day and you just had to interrupt it because you’re panicking over the guy you fancy also being the other guy you fancy. Doesn’t this make things easier?”

“No.” Sirius snapped, before he frowned, folding his arms across his chest. “And how did Evans figure it out?”

“It was a… joint figuring out.” James shrugged. “I texted her after your last major ‘Remus vs. Moony’ freak-out, just to try and get some insight on Remus’s feelings on you.” He ignored Sirius’s splutters of indignation, trekking on. “I may have let slip that you texting some guy codenamed ‘Moony’ and she knew that Remus was texting some guy codenamed ‘Padfoot’ under the codename ‘Moony’. It all kind of fell into place quite quickly after that.” He shrugged again, looking rather pleased.

“And why,” Sirius growled, glowering at James, “why, pray tell, didn’t either of you tell us?!”

“We thought that the two of you should figure it out on your own.” James answered, smiling a little. “Lily and I thought it would be best. And look, now you know. So… what are you going to do?” James asked, smile fading as his expression turned serious.

“I don’t know.” Sirius groaned, burying his head in his hands. “I can’t tell him.”

“Why not?” James asked with a frown. “I mean, doesn’t this make things a lot easier? Now you don’t have to feel bad about texting Moony when you’re also so close to dating Remus because they’re the same person.”

“But that’s the whole problem!” Sirius exclaimed, glowering at James for his lack of understanding the trials that he was going through. “If I tell him Remus will think that I’m a total and utter slag for flirting with who I thought was someone else while I was also flirting with him.” His eyes widened as he realized something and he groaned dramatically again, throwing himself against James’s side. “Oh kill me now, Jamie! I sent Remus a picture of my dick.” He straightened up as another realization struck, much too late according to James. “Holy fuck, Remus _likes_ my dick! Ugh, what am I going to dooooooo?” He whined, pouting as he peered up at James, as though he could solve all of his problems. 

James sighed, running a hand through his hair as he thought about the best course of action to calm down a Sirius who was going through a dramatic panic. “Well, first things first. Let’s figure out what you’re going to do with his phone. After you’ve dealt with that we can figure out the rest if it comes to that.”

Slowly Sirius nodded, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. “Well I can’t very well give it to him. That would be too awkward. Not to mention I need some time to think about my action plan from here on out.”

“Very true.” James nodded in agreement, looking thoughtful. Just then the phone in Sirius’s hand buzzed and a new message from Lily flashed across the screen. James’s eyes lit up with an idea and he snatched the phone from Sirius’s hand. “Lily! Of course! I’ll just ask if she wants to grab food or something and give it back to her to give to Remus.”

Sirius blinked, surprised at how easy James made it seem. “Yes… you could do that. What will you tell her if she asks why you have Remus’s phone, though?" 

James shrugged. “The truth? He left it at the café after meeting with you and we figured this was the best way to return it. And she knows all about your little texting adventure, so there will be no weirdness there.” He smiled, knowing that not even Sirius could argue with his idea.

In response Sirius sighed and reluctantly nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He frowned a bit, finishing off his coffee, making a face when he realized it had turned cold and bitter while he was in the midst of his freak out. “So… what should I do about Remus being Moony?”

“Well…” James started, tugging on a strand of his hair as he thought. “You’re meeting Moony next week, aren’t you?” he waited for Sirius to nod before he continued. “Thought so. Well, why don’t you just wait until then and see how he reacts. But no matter what, you cannot lie and say you didn’t know. If he asks you have to confess.” He said sternly, looking at Sirius hard until he nodded in acquiescence. “Very good. Then you guys can figure out how to go on from there.”

“That… actually sounds like a good plan.” Sirius agreed, sounding rather impressed, much to James’s chagrin. “Thanks, James, I knew I could count on you.” He smiled, throwing his arms around James in a tight hug. “You’re the best.”

“Of course I am.” James grinned, ruffling Sirius’s hair. “Now, I’d better go get this phone to Lily before Remus realizes he left it and comes back here. And don’t you have some art you should be getting back to?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at Sirius as they both stood.

“Sadly, yes.” Sirius nodded, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “My main sketch is almost done, then I’ll just have the painting portion done.”

James looked at him, tilting his head to the side curiously. “Didn’t you say your main sketch was of a wolf with the moon?”

“Yeah.” Sirius nodded again, frowning a little. James was never overly concerned with what Sirius drew, as long as Sirius was happy with it. “What’s it to you?”

“Nothing.” James shook his head, though Sirius could swear he saw the flicker of a smirk across James’s lips. “Man, have you got it bad.”

Sirius’s frown deepened as James started walking away, confused by his best friend’s words. “What’s that supposed to mean?" 

“Nothing.” James repeated in answer over his shoulder, waving a hand in farewell. “See you.”

“Prat.”

* * *

_ Evans, we need to get food. _

Why hello James, good afternoon to you too.

How am I doing, you ask?

I’m doing fine, thank you so much!

How was my day?

Absolutely spectacular until some utter wanker started texting me.

_ SIGH. _

_ Hello, Evans. How are you? _

_ Would you like to get dinner with me tonight? _

_ There, is that better. _

Much better, Potter.

Why do you want to get dinner?

_ Do I need a reason? _

…

_ Alright, fine. Yes, I have a reason. _

_ Sirius knows. _

Knows what?

Oh. He KNOWS.

_ Yeah. _

_ That. _

What’s he gonna do about it?

_ Doesn’t know yet. _

_ Just finished freaking out. _

How’d he find out?

Remus let something slip?

Moony let something slip?

Both of them at the same time?

_ Nah. _

_ Remus left his phone at the café with Sirius. _

_ Sirius texted Moony. _

_ Showed up on Remus’s phone. _

_ Sirius was smart enough to connect the dots. _

Wow, good for him.

I’m so very proud.

_ Wow, so much sarcasm. _

I do try.

Guessing I’m the delivery man for the phone?

_ Got it in one. _

_ Aren’t you smart ;) _

Send that face again, Potter, and I will break your arm.

_ ;) _

Why do I put up with you?

_ It’s my hair. _

_ Chicks dig it. _

Nope. 

Definitely not.

Changing the subject:

Food? Where? When?

_ Leaky Cauldron? Say… 8pm? _

It’s a date. See you then.

_ A date? _

_ ;) _

Oh shut up.

* * *

The moment Remus stepped outside of the Three Broomsticks he knew he had made a huge, huge mistake. Why? Why had he walked out? He contemplated going back inside to apologize to Sirius, even going as far as to turn around and take a step back towards the door, before he stopped and shook his head. No, he couldn’t do that. It would be way too embarrassing. He’d apologize to him tomorrow. …or the next time they ran into each other.

It surprised Remus how much it hurt to think that maybe he wouldn’t be seeing as much of Sirius as he had gotten used to these past few weeks in the future. What was his life even like before he had met Sirius? Dreadfully dull, he was sure.

Sighing, Remus headed home, deciding that what he really needed was to curl up in his armchair under some blankets with a mug of steaming tea and a book. That would make him feel loads better.

Twenty minutes later and Remus was indeed curled up in his armchair, a steaming mug of tea sitting on the table next to him, and an open book sitting on his lap. For the first time, however, Remus just couldn’t focus on the written words. He stared at the book for a good ten minutes, not even seeing the words as his mind turned time and time again back to Sirius. How was it that everything had gone so wrong so quickly? All he had done was ask Sirius a question. There was no harm in that, right?

Frowning, Remus thought back to what Sirius had said to him, wondering if he had missed some clue as to why it made Sirius upset. He had just been so embarrassed by upsetting him that he just had to get out of there. Sighing and realizing that there was no way he was going to be able to focus on his book, Remus reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. He frowned, patting his pockets as panic started to well up in his chest. His phone wasn’t there.

Trying to take deep breaths to calm himself, Remus pulled open his backpack, searching through the sections. Not finding it there, he took everything out, setting it to the side, in hopes that he had only missed it’s slim body. To his horror he still couldn’t find it. Thinking back, he realized that there was only one possible place where he could have left his phone—at the coffee shop with Sirius.

Groaning, Remus debated whether it would be worth it to go back out into the cold and head back to the coffee shop. He was just about to get up, leaving the warmth of his blankets and tea, when the door to his and Lily’s flat opened, admitting the fire-haired girl. Upon seeing him sitting there, Lily smiled. “Looking pretty cozy there, Remus.” She said, walking over to him as she shucked off her coat and scarf. “What’s up?”

Remus sighed, debating whether to tell her about what had happened with Sirius. He decided to go with admitting part, no need to tell her everything about his major screw-up. “I think I left my phone in the café. …with Sirius.”

“You mean…this phone?” Lily grinned, holding up Remus’s cell phone for inspection before she passed it over.

“I… how?” was all Remus could get out as he took back his phone in awe. Sometimes he was pretty sure Lily was his guardian angel and he would be so lost without her.

“James Potter gave it to me.” Lily answered, setting down her bag before she went to sit on the couch across the room from Remus. She grabbed a blanket from the back, making herself comfortable before she continued to explain. “He got it from Sirius, who said that you had left it at the café. Sirius apparently was freaking out about how he would get it back to you.” She paused, looking thoughtful. “Oh yeah, and Sirius apparently is sorry for the way he acted and wishes that you wouldn’t have run off.” She added, leveling a look at Remus with a raised eyebrow. “So. What happened?”

Remus sighed, shaking his head. “You’re a life saver, you know that, right?” he paused, chewing on his lower lip as he picked up his mug from the table, letting it’s warmth seep into his hands as he stared into its depths of swirling steam. “As to what happened… I fucked up, Lils. I majorly fucked up.”

Lily frowned, tilting her head to the side as she looked at him. “You did what now?" 

“Sirius and I were just talking and… I must have said something wrong because he got all tense and short and I just… I just… I had to get out of there. So I left.” Remus explained quietly, stumbling over his words. The more he thought about it the clearer it became that he had overreacted, that what he had done was stupid and he should have just stayed and talked it out with Sirius. He should have learned what was really going on before he ran out on him. “Do you… do you think I can apologize? Will everything be alright?”

Snorting, Lily rolled her eyes and nodded. “Of course everything will be alright, Remus. From what James has said Sirius is a decent bloke who really cares about you. If you just explain that you panicked a little I bet he’d understand.” She smiled softly at him. “Text him and explain.”

Remus nodded, opening his phone to text Sirius before he realized there was one major issue with Lily’s advice. “I…I don’t have his number.”

“What?” Lily frowned at him. “Yes you do. You’ve been…” Lily trailed off, her eyes going wide as she realized what she had just let slip. To her good fortune it seemed that Remus had not heard her, too focused on the message that had been awaiting him when he opened his phone.

“I guess I’ll just have to hope he comes back to the coffee shop, then.” Remus shrugged, fingers tapping out a message on the screen. “Now… James told you all that stuff?” he asked, looking up at Lily with a sly expression. She blushed lightly and nodded in confirmation. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with James lately, haven’t you? Is there something you want to tell me, Lils?”

“No.” Lily answered quickly. Much too quickly, in Remus’s opinion. Although they’d only known each other for about two years Remus could still always tell when Lily was lying to him.

“Of course not.” Remus grinned, enjoying finally being able to tease her about someone special. “You just spend a lot of time with someone you’re totally not interested in.”

“Nope. Not interested in Potter.” Lily huffed, folding her arms before she rose off the couch. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said as she picked her bag back off of the floor. “No idea. I’ve got studying to do. Bye!” she said quickly before scurrying to her room, the door closing shut behind her.

“Coward.” Remus called after her with a chuckle before he returned to his phone, smiling when he saw that there was already a response.

_You too?_

_I just fucked up with pretty-boy._

_Hoping I can win him back, though._

**You? Fuck up with pretty-boy?**

**Not possible.**

**…what happened?**

**That is, if you want to tell me.**

**You don’t have to.**

**Don’t feel like you need to or anything.**

**Sorry.**

_Nah, it’s fine._

_I just… I overreacted about something and kinda…left?_

_Sometimes I just get panicky and need to get out._

_It wasn’t his fault, but I have no way of telling him that._

**Text him?**

_Don’t have his number._

_Gotta rectify that soon._

_If possible_

**Ah, gotcha.**

**Well, whenever you see him next just tell him it wasn’t his fault.**

**You’re cute, so I’m sure he’ll understand ;)**

_Thanks? I think?_

_How’d you fuck up?_

**Ah, I also kinda…overreacted?**

**He asked about a touchy subject and I didn’t know how to handle it.**

**Prongs says that I get super tense when it comes up?**

**And pretty short and snappy as well?**

**Doesn’t make me come across very well.**

**So that happened.**

**I, too, don’t have his number.**

**Hoping I can find him soon, though**

_Well I wish you much luck with that, Padfoot!_

**Awwww, thanks Moons.**

**I knew you cared <3**

_Always <3_

**So… we still on for next weekend?**

**For the meet-up?**

_I am if you are._

**I definitely am.**

**Did we ever decide where?**

_No, I don’t think so._

_Got any preferences?_

**Um… not in one of our apartments, if that’s okay?**

**Keep things on neutral territory.**

_What, afraid I actually am an axe murderer?_

**Not so much.**

**Just worried about things being… awkward.**

_Awkward how?_

**It’s just…**

**Nothing.**

**Forget about it.**

**I’m just being weird**

_Padfoooottttt_

_Tell me. It’s okay, I promise_

**No, I’m just being weird.**

**I’ll explain if it come up, okay?**

_Alright, fine._

_That’s acceptable, I guess._

_So, have a good day of art?_

**Yeah, I guess. Still working on that painting.**

**My sketch is coming along great, though!**

**It’s going to go so well with the painting and my pots.**

**Ugh, I can’t wait until my show but it’s not until after holidays.**

**Sorry… I’m babbling**

_No. No sorries_

_I like it._

_I’d love to come see your show._

_If that’s okay, that is._

_Would that be okay?_

_It’s totally okay if it’s not!_

_Like, I’ll totally understand._

_Padfoot?_

_Padffooooottttt!_

_I promise I won’t be mad!_

_Come on, man, don’t go silent on me._

**Fuck**

_Oh thank god._

_Padfoot?_

_Everything okay_

**Fucking shit**

_…I’ll take that as a no_

**this day just keeps on getting better**

_sarcasm?_

**Dripping with it**

**Fuck**

**This was not what I needed**

**Not right now**

_What happened?_

_Can I do anything to help?_

**Not unless you have a way to travel back in time**

_Sorry, fresh out of time travel_

_I’ll work on that_

_Now what happened?_

**I fucking tripped.**

**I’ve got a lot on my mind right now and I wasn’t really**

**I wasn’t**

**I wasn’t paying attention and**

**And**

**Fuck**

**Why is this so hard to type?**

**Maybe because I’m bawling my eyes out?**

**I see you typing, don’t say anything**

**You say something and I won’t be able to type this fucking thing**

**I was carrying the canvas with my sketch on it and I fucking tripped**

**Managed not to fall be grabbing onto a shelf**

**But the shelf was loose. Tipped.**

**There was a bottle of red paint on the shelf.**

**Some fucker left its cap off.**

**It got all over my painting.**

**Fucking hell. It looks like I eviscerated an animal on it**

**Ugh this is awful**

**-picture sent-**

_That…is that a wolf silhouette? And the full moon?_

**…yes? What about it?**

_I… actually kinda like the red paint?_

_It kinda looks like slashes across the canvas_

_As though the wolf just killed_

_Maybe… and I don’t know what you can do, artistic-wise with this project_

_But you could maybe carefully cut the canvas in a couple of places?_

_Like, where the paint slashed?_

_So it looks like claws ripped into it?_

**Holy fuck!**

_…is that good swearing?_

**MOONS YOU’RE A GENIUS!**

**THAT’S BRILLIANT!**

**I can fix another, smaller canvas to the back of it**

**So it doesn’t lose shape**

**Slash it, roughen up the edges**

**You’re a lifesaver Moony!**

**I love you so much! <3**

_Ah… thanks? I guess?_

**YES THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!**

_You’re… welcome?_

**Okay, gotta get back to work now**

**This is going to be great**

**Thanks again, babe!**

_Any time, Pads_

_Not to be a bother, I know you’re working_

_But you never answered my question_

**Moonshine! My savior! :D**

**What question?**

_About seeing your show?_

**Ah yes, that question.**

**Um… I think it will depend.**

**On what happens when we meet.**

**If that’s an okay answer?**

_That’s a totally okay answer_ _J_

_Thanks_ _J_

**No problem.**

**Oh yes! Place to meet that’s neutral territory**

**That’s what we were talking about before the paint fiasco**

**I was thinking maybe the big tree? By the lake?**

_You mean by the Whomping Willow?_

**Whomping Willow?**

_Yes?_

**You fucking named the tree?**

_Shit. I forgot not everyone calls it that._

**So, explain?**

_Don’t you have work to do?_

**I’m taking a Moony break.**

**Now spill. I did with the nicknames.**

_Okay, so._

_Freshers week._

_My now apartment mate and I had met_

_We were trying to avoid forced socialization, so we went to hide by the lake_

_We decided that the roots by that huge tree would be a great place_

_Except we get there only to find_

**Only to find what?**

**Come on, Moons, you can’t do this to me!**

_Sorry, sorry. It’s just so… ew._

_Only to find some bloke already there…with his dick out._

**WHAT?!**

_Bloke with his pants down, dick out, jerking like you wouldn’t believe._

_Why he would choose that place of all options I will never know._

_So… whomping willow._

**Oh my god.**

**Because he was “whomping his willow”**

**Merlin, that’s amazing, Moons.**

**Do, like, all of your friends call it that, too?**

_You’d be surprised how well it caught on._

**I’m gonna have to tell Prongs to start calling it that**

**Merlin, that’s so brilliant.**

**Thanks, Moony, that was a thrilling story**

**Thank you for sharing it with me**

_You’re welcome? I guess?_

_I feel like that story’s not something you should really be thanking me for, though_

**Well I am anyway, get used to it.**

_Okay, okay. Should you be getting back to work? It’s late._

**Yeah, probably.**

**And you should be sleeping, yeah?**

_Yeah, sadly._

**Don’t sound so disappointed, Moons.**

**You need to rest up!**

**You’ve got a pretty-boy to win back, remember?**

_Ah yes. Need my beauty sleep for that._

**You already look beautiful, my dear**

**But sleep can’t hurt**

**Night! <3**

_Night Pads <3_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next, Chapter 6: The Meeting
> 
> (Thank you guys for sticking with me as I completely forgot to upload 2 chapters! Hopefully we'll be all good and in order from here on out)


	6. The Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finally meet and all is revealed... or is it?

The next week dawned with Remus awaking to a sore throat and a pounding headache. He groaned as he rolled out of bed, realizing that there was no way they’d let him work if he was feeling sick. He called Dorcas, warning her that he wouldn’t be in, before he took some medicine and went right back to bed. It was “dead week”, the week before finals, so he knew he could afford missing some classes. They would only be reviewing things, anyway, and Remus was pretty certain he knew all the material that would be covered. He could review by himself from bed later, anyway.

Remus’s illness persisted through the beginning of the week, seeming to die away every night only to come back with a raging vengeance every morning. As the weekend approached he grew ever more concerned that he wouldn’t be well enough to meet with Padfoot, let alone talk to Sirius before then to explain everything. He had thought about taking a trip to the café to see if Sirius was there, but he just couldn’t get up the energy to make the trip without knowing whether Sirius would be there or not.

Every day that week Sirius made sure to spend as much time at the café as possible, hoping that Remus would be there so that they could talk. If he wasn’t in the studio then he was in The Three Broomsticks, in his usual chair sipping on a cup of coffee and pretending to do work. On the third day that he was in there Dorcas finally took pity on him, delivering his coffee with a note that informed him that Remus was ill and therefore not working all week.

Sighing, Sirius made his way out of the coffee shop, knowing now that there was no way he’d be able to meet with Remus before his meeting with “Moony”. He only hoped that Remus would give him a chance to explain before he left him for good. Taking out his phone, Sirius fiddled with it as he thought, heading towards his flat. Maybe he should text Remus? But he couldn’t help thinking about that ‘pretty-boy’ that “Moony” had said he was trying to woo. Who was that bloke?

Sirius’s chest hurt at the idea of Remus fancying someone else and he rubbed at it, frowning. What would he tell Remus once they met? What if Remus figured out that _he_ was the super-hot friend Sirius had been talking about? Sirius couldn’t bear the thought of Remus knowing that Sirius fancied him and that Sirius knew that he fancied some other bloke. It would be super awkward and super painful for Sirius, of that he was certain. ‘

Finally, Sirius decided to text “Moony”. It would make him feel better for the time being before he had to face his fate.

**Moooonnnnnyyyyy!**

_Hey Padfoot_

**How are you doing?**

_Eh. I’ve been sick for a while._

_Feeling better today, though_

**Will you be okay for Saturday?**

_Yeah, I should be._

_Wouldn’t miss it for the world_ _J_

**Really?**

**What… what about Pretty-boy?**

_Eh, Pretty boy is great and all…_

_But he’s not my Padfoot._

_And anyway, I haven’t seen him all week_

_Not since my fuck-up_

**I’m sure everything’s fine with him**

**But… thanks**

**I like being your Padfoot**

_And I like you being my Padfoot_

_And soon…_

_Soon you won’t just be a number in my phone_

_You’ll be a real person_

**I’ve always been a real person :P**

_Hush, you_

_You know what I mean._

**Yeah, yeah I do.**

**Can’t wait.**

_Neither can I_

**Moony, I…**

**I…**

_What, Padfoot?_

**Nevermind.**

**I gotta go**

_Padfoot, is everything okay?_

_Padfoot…_

_Padfoot, if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m here_

_I…I really like you._

_A lot._

_Have a nice night, I guess._

* * *

The day of meeting dawned bright and cold, a low fog hanging over the campus. Sirius awoke late, body and head hurting, and a discomforting feeling in his chest. Somehow he just knew that something was going to go wrong. The day seemed to drag on and on, but then all too soon it was five o’clock and Sirius found himself heading down towards the lake, heart hammering in his chest.

He had spent the last hour picking out his clothes and doing his hair, almost forgetting that he had in fact met “Moony” before and his efforts to make a good first impression would all be for naught. But still he felt as though he needed to look _good_ , if only to make Remus consider choosing him over “pretty-boy”. He had chosen his sinfully skinny jeans that he had been assured by James ten times over made his arse look fantastic, paired with his favorite long-sleeve v-neck. Over it he wore his trade-mark jacket that he had realized just last week Remus had never seen. It had been sitting, forgotten and neglected, in his closet for the past three months as Sirius wore his almost identical, though not quite the same, black leather jacket. He had realized as he pulled it out of his closet an hour earlier that it had been fortunate he had neglected it. If Remus had ever seen him in it the whole charade would have been up. On the back, in large, silver letters, was the word “PADFOOT”. Beneath it was his constellation, his own star shining and studded with fake rhinestones—James’s idea, of course.

As he approached the tree, Sirius could just make out a silhouette standing beneath it, the light from a screen shining into their face. Moments later his phone buzzed in his pocket and he took it out.

_I’m here_

_Not chickening out on me, right?_

**Nah, I’m almost there.**

**Look to your right.**

Sirius pocketed his phone as he approached the screen, smiling a little as Remus looked down at his phone before glancing up and to his right quickly. A smile flashed upon his lips and he brightened, before the expression twisted into a frown.

“Oh. Hey, Sirius. Sorry, I thought you were someone else.” Remus said, disappointment quickly crossing his face before it was gone. “What’re you doing here?”

“Meeting up with someone.” Sirius answered truthfully, running a hand through his hair.

“Oh.” Remus blinked in surprise, chewing on his lower lip. “Odd…so am I. Is… uh, who’re you meeting up with. If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

“Not at all.” Sirius couldn’t help the small smile that slid onto his lips. “I’m meeting up with you, actually.”

“Me? What…” Remus trailed off as his eyes went wide and he looked at Sirius in wonder mixed with a heavy dose of confusion. “Padfoot?”

“Hey, Moons.” Sirius smiled, stepping forward to brush a strand of hair out of his face. “You feeling better, then?”

Remus didn’t answer, a battle waging over his face as he alternated between confusion and complete and utter shock. “You… you’re Padfoot?!” he finally asked, sounding disbelieving. When Sirius nodded in affirmation Remus’s face contorted into something closely resembling anger as he realized the implications of Sirius’s words. “Wait… you’re not surprised. You knew!” Again, Sirius nodded and Remus spluttered in indignation. “You knew and you didn’t tell me?” his eyes widened. “How long?”

“How long what?” Sirius asked in confusion, Remus’s reaction throwing him completely off-guard. He had been expecting either fiery anger or complete joy, not… this. Whatever _this_ was.

“How long did you know?!”

“Um… since you left your phone in the Three Broomsticks.” Sirius admitted quietly, shoving his hands in his pockets as he hunched in on himself, hating the anger that was infused with Remus’s words. He’d never heard him speak like this before.

“Since I-fuck!” Remus spat, shaking his head. “What was this, then? Some sort of trick?” before Sirius could answer that no, it certainly was NOT a trick, Remus cut him off. “I bet you and James had a good laugh, didn’t you. How pathetic I was, telling some stranger, you! About how hot I thought you were. God, I’m an idiot.” He laughed self-depreciable. “How could someone like you actually like someone like me? Man.” He shook his head, face twisting in something resembling a sneer. “Did you have me fooled.”

“No!” Sirius exclaimed, grabbing Remus’s hands before he could turn around and leave. “You’re wrong! It was never a trick, Moons.”

“Don’t call me that.” Remus growled, scowling at Sirius.

“You didn’t seem to mind it before.” Sirius countered, making Remus snort.

“Yeah, well that was before I learned you were a lying, two-timing bastard.”

Sirius’s eyes widened at that before they narrowed. “What about you? Here _you_ were, flirting with me both over text and in real life and after all that you still wanted that fucking pretty-boy you fucked up with!”

Remus blinked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “Are… are you jealous?”

“Yes!” Sirius admitted with a shout. “Yes, I’m jealous! I’m jealous that you like that pretty-boy with the abs when you’re supposed to be _my_ Moony!”

Remus laughed at that, making Sirius look absolutely affronted. “Merlin, this is so messed up.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Here, let me describe that pretty-boy for you.”

“I’d rather you not.” Sirius muttered darkly. “I don’t want to hear about how gorgeous and perfect he is. I’ve had enough of that.”

“Padfoot, will you just shut up for _one minute_?” Remus snapped, throwing Sirius an exasperated look. Immediately Sirius shut up, the surprise of Remus using his nickname swiping the words from his throat. “Much better.” He grinned and folding his arms across his chest. “Now, how to describe pretty-boy…” he trailed off, looking contemplative. “He has the most gorgeous arse I’ve ever seen and it looks even better in a pair of skinny-jeans. His hair is so silky and dark that every time I see him I just want to run my fingers through it. His eyes are like silver pools of starlight and every time he laughs it takes my breath away. His abs are so perfect I want to lick every inch of them. Oh, and his cock is beautiful too, and just thinking about it makes me hard.” He smirked.

Sirius rolled his eyes, not amused. “Yeah, great. Glad to know. Well, I hope you’re happy with him.” He muttered, turning away from Remus.

Remus’s hand shot out, pulling Sirius back towards him. “Oh, and I forgot one other thing… he goes by this ridiculous name—Padfoot.”

Sirius blinked in surprise before he blushed lightly. “You… you really think all of that?”

“Of course I do.” Remus rolled his eyes with a fond smile. “But don’t think I’m not still mad you didn’t tell me, because I am.” He added, poking Sirius playfully. “Luckily for you I’d rather not be so mad at you about it that we can’t… I don’t know… go on a date?”

“I’d love to.” Sirius smiled, happy butterflies swirling in his stomach. “Um… but maybe after Holidays? I’m swamped until then.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Remus nodded with a sweet smile, gathering his courage as he leaned forward and place a gently kiss on Sirius’s cheek. “I’d say it was a date, even.”

Sirius laughed, shaking his head as he pulled Remus into a tight hug. “I’m glad you know now, you know. It was awful, having to keep it from you.” He paused, pulling away so he could look at Remus, keeping his hands on his shoulders. “For the record, though, James and Lily have known for weeks and haven’t told us, so…”

“Oh, Lily is so dead.” Remus muttered, making Sirius laugh.

“Yeah, so is James.” He grinned, hugging Remus again, just because he could.

“Wait…” Remus arched an eyebrow, spinning Sirius around. “It’s the gang jacket! I knew I’d never seen it before!”

Sirius blushed, glad he had his back to Remus so he wouldn’t see. “Yeah… and for the last time it’s not a gang jacket! I realized that if I had ever just worn this by accident we would have figured this all out a long time ago.”

“So much makes sense now…” Remus said, chuckling to himself. “So many times when we were meeting I’d just finish texting with Padfoot only to see you pocketing your phone. And the whole Halloween party thing… wait, does that mean that we were talking about us wanting to be in the other’s bed? While in different rooms? In your apartment?”

“I’m afraid so.” Sirius nodded with a soft laugh. “So… yeah. I literally suggested that you should have been in my bed without knowing that it was my bed you were talking about. And Lily was the apartment mate who got super smashed and was clinging onto you like an octopus.”

Remus laughed, his mood brightening as he realized that everything would be okay. Sirius liked him… actually liked him. It wasn’t some big ploy or scheme to make him look stupid. Sirius had liked him all along, he just didn’t know that it was him he was talking about. Remus’s heart felt light and he swore he’d never stop smiling. Nothing could bring him down from this lovely high, fueled by the thought that Sirius Black, hottest guy he’d met, was actually interested in him.

“Just kiss already!” came a shout from behind them, breaking their moment. Jumping, the pair let go of each other, spinning around to see James and Lily standing behind the Whomping Willow, watching them with matching Cheshire grins. Scowling, Sirius flicked James off while Remus just blushed brightly as he caught Lily’s knowing grin.

“How long have you two stalkers been there?” Sirius grumbled, putting his hands on his hips as he leveled a glare at James.

“Just the mushy parts.” James waved him off with a laugh as they came over to the pair. “I’m guessing we missed the spectacular misunderstanding and subsequent fight with lots of yelling and maybe a couple fists.”

“Nope, luckily we skipped the fists part.” Sirius shook his head.

“Pitty.” Lily giggled, smirking a little. “Remus is actually quite good in a fight. I would have loved seeing you with a black eye, Sirius.”

“Very funny, Evans.” Sirius scowled at her, though the scowl lessened slightly as Remus slipped his hand into his own, entwining their fingers. “And, actually, since when have you two been hanging out without wanting to rip out each other’s’ guts?”

“Quite a while, actually.” Remus answered him, ignoring the spluttering pair, who both looked quite horrifying. “In fact, I think they bonded over knowing that we were texting each other without knowing it. I guess that lying to your best friend can in fact bring people together.” He glanced over at Lily, giving her a rather sly look. “Actually… if I didn’t know any better I’d say that they might even be dating.”

Sirius grinned at Remus, turning towards their friends. “You know what, Moons, I think you’re right. So, Evans… James… how long has this been going on?”

Lily scoffed, shaking his head, although Remus caught the flush that was staining her cheeks. “We’re not… we haven’t been…”

“We’re just friends.” James added in helpfully. “I mean, Lily is great and all, but I’ve decided that we need to get to know each other before we decide to… you know, get into a relationship. Although a relationship would be so very nice…” he trailed off, looking at Lily hopefully.

Lily scowled at him, shaking her head. “No. No way. You’d have to woo my first, Potter, and we both know you’re not capable of that.”

“Be careful, Evans.” Sirius warned with an amused expression. “He might take that as a challenge.”

“In fact I do.” James agreed with a bright grin, hardly seeming concerned when Lily started inching away from him, looking worried. “I’ll woo you, Lily-flower. Just you wait.”

“Ah, well…” Lily started, looking panicked. She quickly grabbed Remus’s hand which was not attached to Sirius’s, pulling him away from the other boy. “We’ve really got to go study, don’t we, Remus?” she asked sweetly, ignoring his shaking head. “Yes, we do. Finals and all. Have a good holiday, boys.” She said before she dragged Remus away, leaving Sirius and James looking after her in confusion.

“Text me!” Sirius called after Remus who laughed and waved back in response.

“Will do!”

Sirius sighed once they were out of sight, looking over at James. “Well, that went better than I expected, I guess. Who knew that the bloke he was talking about to me was me all along. At least, it was going well until you interrupted.” He said, throwing James a dirty look.

“It’s my duty as your friend to cock-block you at every opportunity, Pads.” James grinned, ruffling Sirius’s hair. “Now come on, it’s getting late and I know you have an essay due tomorrow.”

“Alright, fine.” Sirius nodded in agreement, following James away from the tree and back towards their flat.

“And no just texting Remus. You have to do work.” James told him sternly.

“Yes, mother.” Sirius rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say.”

* * *

_I still can’t believe you’re Padfoot_

**Pretty crazy, huh?**

**I’m, uh, glad you know, though**

_Yeah, me too._

_It’s just… I knew your face all along_

_Oh /Fuck/_

**what?**

_I just realized_

_All this time I’ve been meeting up with you_

_And the whole time I’ve known_

_I’ve known what your cock looks like_

_Ugh, this is going to be so awkward_

**Only if you make it awkward**

**and if you keep thinking about it**

_I can’t help it_

_It just… happens_

**did you mean what you said**

_What thing that I said?_

_I said a lot_

_So did you_

**the part…**

_yes?_

**ugh, this is surprisingly hard to say**

**now that you know it’s me**

**the part about your reaction to thinking about my cock**

_Oh._

_Um_

_Yeah_

_Yeah, I meant it_

_It’s very distracting_

**success! :D**

_Of course /you’d/ be proud about that_

**of course I am!**

**how could I not be**

**I like you**

**and you like my cock**

**it’s a win-win for me**

_Ugh._

_I like more than your cock_

_I hope you know that_

**haha yeah I do**

**don’t worry**

**I doubt that you would talk to me this much**

**if you were only interested in my cock**

**that would be way too much dedication**

_What can I say?_

_I’m a dedicated man ;)_

**trash boy**

**oh wait, can I call you that anymore?**

**or is it rude**

_Nah, it’s fine_

_I actually was hoping that us meeting wouldn’t, you know_

_Effect how we talk to each other?_

_Because this is the part of Padfoot I like most_

_I don’t want it to change_

**you know what?**

**neither do I**

**I just enjoy this so much**

**it’s great**

_Yeah, it is._

_Um, what should I call you?_

**what do you mean?**

**in bed? ;)**

**sorry, sorry. I had to**

_Yeah, I walked into that one_

_No, I meant if I should call you Sirius_

_Or Padfoot_

_When texting_

**um… I don’t care to be honest**

**whatever you feel like**

_Kk. I like Padfoot_

_Also… I liked the jacket last night_

_Even if I made fun of it_

_It’s cute_

_And cool_

_And…sexy_

**I knew you had a thing for leather jackets!**

_Haha, you caught me out_

**And skirts**

**you liked my Halloween costume, didn’t you?**

_…yeah_

_it was also very distracting_

_so much skin_

_and those heals_

_and the skirt_

_like…damn_

_I like your cock but your arse_

_It’s something else_

_Sorry, was I making you uncomfortable?_

_I can not talk about that stuff?_

_If you’d rather I didn’t?_

_Padfoot?_

**Sorry!**

**I was, uh…**

**looking through my collection of skirts**

**deciding which one I should wear next in your presence**

**sorry for worrying you**

**you’re more than welcome to, uh, talk about that stuff**

**I’m flattered**

**and for the record – stop typing I’m talking!-**

**for the record I like all of that about you too**

**and your freckles**

**and your face**

**and your sweaters**

**ugh, you’re just so cute it’s going to kill me**

_Thanks? I think?_

**it’ll be a good death**

**the best death a bloke could ask for**

_I’m glad_ _J_

_Ugh, Lily says I have to go sleep_

_Early morning lecture tomorrow_

_Like I need to go during dead week_

_But she swears she’ll pour cold water on my to wake me up_

**think she’ll actually go through with it?**

_Yeah, she will._

**Not surprised, to be honest**

**she’s a feisty one**

**don’t know what James has gotten himself into**

_Oh, don’t worry_

_Lily will cave eventually_

_She actually likes James_

_But she can’t just give into him right away_

_She’s too prideful for that_

_And now she’s threatening to take away my phone_

_And freeze it in a box of ice_

**guess that’s my cue to go sleep then, too**

**goodnight!**

_Goodnight <3 Sleep well!_

**You too <3**

* * *

To Remus’s shock and horror, finals week flew by. Although him and Sirius texted nearly every spare minute that he had, they were never able to spend time face-to-face since their fateful meeting. On the day before the official start of Holidays, Remus boarded the train that would take him home, feeling like he was leaving something precious behind. Of course he actually wasn’t; Sirius had left the day before since his finals were done, the Potters coming to pick up him and James. Luckily, Sirius hadn’t left before telling Remus in no uncertain terms that they would have to video chat at _least_ four times over break, of not more. And of course he stressed that one of those times had to be on Christmas. Obviously Remus had readily agreed to Sirius’s terms and he already couldn’t wait to see Sirius’s face again, even if it was just on a computer screen.

Even though he knew it would look needy, the moment the train started moving Remus took out his phone, texting Sirius. He might as well make the other bloke entertain him on his hour ride.

_Padddsssss._

_I’m on a train._

_It’s super boring_

_Entertain me_

**How do you want to be entertained?**

**;)**

_Ugh, you know that’s not what I meant_

**Do I?**

**;)**

_Now you’re just doing this on purpose_.

**Maybe.**

**But really, what do you want me to do?**

_What do /you/ want to do? ;)_

_Okay, sorry. Stopping now._

_Um… tell me about your first day of break?_

**Okay! That I can do!**

**Well as you know the Potters picked us up yesterday**

**James spent the whole car ride waxing poetic about Lily**

**The Potters, dears that they are, ask him if she was his girlfriend**

**He had to admit she wasn’t**

**The dejected look on his face was almost enough**

**Justice for having to listen to him list off the many shades of her hair**

_Oh wow._

_That’s rough :P_

_What did his parents say about his stalker behavior?_

**They didn’t deter him, if that’s what you’re thinking**

**Actually encouraged him**

**It was disgusting, tbh**

**Like, Mr. P kept on telling him to “have heart”**

**That she’ll “come around some day”**

**Mrs. P ensured him that he’s her “handsome boy”**

**And she’s sure his “Lily-Flower will like him some day”**

**His parents are super kind**

**But sometimes let James get away with way too much shit**

_Sounds like it, yeah_

_What else?_

**Well, it was great when we got to their house**

**Turns out…**

**Turns out that, uh, they’d made a bedroom up for me**

**Like, not just a guest bedroom**

**/My/ bedroom**

**Insisted that over break I decorate it**

**Paint it, put up stuff, all that jazz**

**I… might have cried.**

_Awwww, Sirius!_

**Shut it.**

_But that’s so sweet_

_They sound wonderful_

**Good, I’m glad**

**You’ll have to meet them**

**At some point**

**Gain their approval**

**James, uh, may have…**

**He may have… mentioned you**

_…what about me?_

**That, uh…**

**You’re this super cute nerd I’ve fallen head-over heals for**

**Thank god he didn’t mention how we, uh, started texting**

**I don’t want to get that talk with Mrs. P**

**One time was enough**

**Even if it was about girls and guys**

**(that was before she knew I fancied guys as well)**

**I don’t need the gay version as well**

**Once was scaring enough for a lifetime**

_Awww, that’s also sweet!_

_Mrs. P sounds like a dear_

_I can’t wait to meet her_

_So… how are you going to decorate your new room?_

_Got any ideas yet?_

**Uh, I’m thinking of painting it a dark blue?**

**Maybe?**

**I might paint some constellations on the ceiling**

**That glow in the dark**

**With the moon and all that**

**Might do some black tree silhouettes on the walls as well**

_Oh, like a moonlit forest?_

**Yeah, something like that**

**I dunno**

_That’s… surprising_

**Why so?**

_Well, I definitely expected you to go with something more…_

_Punk rock?_

_Like posters of motorbikes and pin-ups and stuff_

**Oh Moony,**

**Are you offering to send me pin-up photos? ;)**

_No. I am not_

_Definitely not_

**Noooo, come onnnnn!**

**Pretty please?**

**With cherries on top?**

_…and chocolate?_

**Yes! So much chocolate**

_I’ll… think about it_

**Yessss!**

**Sucesssss!**

**:D**

_Don’t get too excited_

**Nope, already am**

**What’s your room look like?**

_What do you think?_

**Hmmm…. Books**

**So many books**

**Sweater**

**A lot of blankets**

**And… like…light green walls?**

_…are you a stalker?_

**Um…No?**

_You’re like, almost spot on_

_Everything except the wall color_

**Oh? What color is it?**

_Light blue. So close_

**Woot woot! :D**

_Ugh, getting close to my stop_

**Awwww** **L**

**I’ll miss youuuu**

**When do I get to see your pretty face again?**

Um… things will be pretty busy in the beginning, so…

Maybe in three days?

Let me know when you’re free and we can set up a time

**Fantastic! :D**

**I can’t wait!**

Haha, neither can I J

Okay, it’s my stop!

Talk to you later!

**Have a nice time at home! <3**

* * *

Remus disembarked the train, rolling his suitcase as he looked around the small station. Getting his bearings, he headed for the entrance and out into the cold. The moment he exited the station a broad smile split across his lips; snow was falling, casting a light layer of white on top of the small downtown he now stood in the middle of. There were lights on every tree, the planters that were typically filled with flowers were instead filled with evergreens and colorful baubles, sparkling in the falling dusk. All around Remus people bustled, wrapped up in their warmest winter coats, complete with hats, scarves, and large mittens. This. This was what Remus loved about the holidays. He couldn’t wait to get home and curl up on the couch with a warm mug of coco and a good book. But first, he had to trek through the snow to his house.

Fifteen minutes later, regretting not bringing his earmuffs along with his hat, Remus arrived at his front door. He took a deep breath, ringing the doorbell before he let himself in. “Mum? You home?” he called, smiling softly as he heard a shout and then quick feet thudding down the stairs. Moments later a short, slight woman came around the corner, beaming at Remus.

“Remus! Why didn’t you call? I could have picked you up at the station.” She scolded, already ushering Remus out of his coat and grabbing his bags.

“No, no, I didn’t want to bother you.” Remus said softly, shaking his head as he hung his things up on the coatrack, taking his bags back from his mother. “You have Christmas to prepare for, after all. And I liked walking in the snow. It was… peaceful. It’s beautiful out there.”

“The snow is very pretty.” Hope Lupin nodded as she headed back into the kitchen, gesturing for Remus to follow her. “I just hope it doesn’t snow too much or your uncles will never make it. Air travel is already a nightmare at this time of year without adding snow into the mix.”

Remus bit his lip, setting his bags against the wall before he slipped into a seat at the counter. “Would…would that really be a bad thing?” he asked quietly as his mother bustled around, making him a cup of hot chocolate.

Hope paused, turning to frown at Remus. “What do you mean? I thought you liked your uncles.”

“They’re… fine.” Remus shrugged, chewing on his lower lip nervously. “It’s just… they keep on pushing me. About that whole girlfriend thing. And the fact that I don’t have one. And this year…” he trailed off, ducking his head.

Remus’s mother’s eyes went wide and she set his mug down in front of him, sinking into the chair across from Remus. “Remus, love… did you… are you…What’s his name?”

“We’re not dating.” Remus said quickly, shaking his head.

“But you hope to be?” Hope said, more like a statement than a question. A smile slipped onto her lips and she leaned forwards to look at her son intently. “So, what’s his name?”

“Sirius.” Remus answered, blushing lightly. “His name is Sirius.”

“Is he going to visit?” Hope asked, eyes going wide again. “Should I make up the guest room? Oh, or would you rather he stay with you?” she queried, making to get up like she would get started on making Sirius up a room immediately.

“No, he’s not visiting. We’re not even dating yet, mom.” Remus groaned, burying his head in his hands.

“Fine.” Hope sighed, flopping back into her chair. “Pity, though.”

Remus looked up at his mom, sighing. “Lily’s going to visit, though.”

“Oh, that dear girl? When?” Hope asked, seeming to be placated that at least one of her son’s friends was coming to visit him.

“Probably the week after Christmas, before New Years.” Remus answered. “She’s very excited to come by again.”

“I’m sure.” Hope nodded, lips persing. “Does she know about… Sirius?”

“Yeah.” Remus frowned a bit at his mother. “Of course she does, why wouldn’t she?”

“Well, she’s always seemed rather…fond of you. I don’t want you getting her hopes up or anything.”

“Mom.” Remus rolled his eyes. “Yes, she’s fond of me, because we’re friends. And only friends. She knows about my persuasion and has never had a problem with it. And anyway, Sirius’s best friend James is rather taken with Lily and I think it’s only a matter of time before she gives in to his charm.” He explained.

Hope nodded, seeming agreeable with Remus’s explanation. “Alright, alright. Just let me know what day she’ll be arriving so I can make up the bedroom for her, alright dear?” when Remus nodded she smiled, rising again from the table. “Lovely. Well, I have some errands to run, now that you’ve arrived. Why don’t you unpack and relax a bit, I’m sure you’re exhausted from finals.”

“Thanks, mum.” Remus smiled softly, waving as Hope left the kitchen. A few minutes later he heard the sound of the front door closing and a car being started, and he was alone.

Sighing, Remus took the steaming mug of hot chocolate to the living room, and set it on the coffee table. Grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, he curled up in an armchair and turned on the television, switching from the tv to Netflix. He chose a trash Christmas show to put on in the background before taking out his phone.

_Hey Lils._

_Mum says it’s okay if you visit_

_Just let me know what day_

Fantastic!

Can’t wait! :D

Have a nice Holiday until I see you

Making cookies now

Gotta go!

He switched over to his conversation with Sirius, trying to decide if he would look too needy if he texted him again already. Finally he decided that he just didn’t care. Going to type out a text, he jumped as his phone buzzed and a message from Sirius appeared.

**Hey Pretty Boy ;)**

**Make it home safe and sound?**

_Yes, yes I did_

_A winky face._

_Really?_

**Yes.**

**You’ll fall to my seduction eventually**

**I have hope**

_Keep telling yourself that_

**I will ;)**

**But really.**

**How’s being home**

_Um… anticlimactic?_

_I mean, my mum is already gone_

_Running errands_

_She knows about you, though_

**Ohhh, knows what?**

**Did you tell her how very handsome I am?**

_No, that didn’t really come up_

_Just that you’re in my life_

_She wanted to know if you were visiting_

_I told her no_

_Since we’re, you know_

_Not even dating yet_

**A tragedy that will be rectified the moment we get back to school**

_Yeah_.

**But in the meantime I will be content with video chatting**

**I miss your face, Moony**

**Your pretty, pretty face**

_I miss your face too, Padfoot_

_Like, it’s only been a little over a day_

_But I still miss it_

_And we didn’t even really get to hang out last week_

_Which sucked_

_Oh!_

**yes?**

_How’s your art thing going?_

_The one with the wolves?_

**Oh! Great!**

**:D**

**So great. My show is the third week in January**

**You’ll be there**

**you have no choice**

_Of course, of course_

_…the doorbell just rang_

_But my mom isn’t home_

_What do I do?_

**…answer it?**

_But what if it’s a burglar_

**I’ll protect you!**

_From however far away you are right now?_

**…it’s the thought that counts?**

_While that might work for presents_

_It doesn’t for protecting me from burglars_

**Go check the door, Moons**

_Fine, fine_

_But if I die I’m blaming you_

**I’ll be here, Moonpie.**

**Don’t you worry**

_Wlefkjqweifjwiosfdjl_

**…what was that?**

**Moony?**

**Mooonnnnyyyyyyy**

**Please tell me that wasn’t you being murdered**

**Moonyyyyy!**

-Calling Moony-

-Call denied-

-Calling Moony-

-Call Answered-

“Moony?”

“Hey Pads. Sorry about that.”

“Do I hear…giggling? Is that a female in the background?”

“Yes, unfortunately. Tonks, stop that!”

“Tonks?”

“Sorry, it was my next door neighbor. She’s two years younger and the biggest pain. No, no you cannot talk to him! You tackled me! She tackled me, Pads. I opened the door to see who it was and she fucking tackled me onto the ground. Hey, stop laughing!”

“Sorry, sorry dear. It’s just… how tall is she?”

“…like, five foot…one? Maybe?”

“You got bulldozed by a tiny girl. I’m allowed to laugh.”

“Fine. Meany. Ugh, she’s badgering me to get off the phone.”

“Guess that’s my cue, then.”

“Sadly, yeah. I get to see your face in a couple days!”

“Can’t wait!”

“Bye Pads!”

“Bye, my Moonpie. Have fun with the neighbor.”

“I’ll try but I’m not promising anything.”

-Call Disconnected-

“Who are you video-chatting with, again?” Remus’s neighbor, Tonks, asked, leaning backwards over the end of the couch to look at him upside down. Remus glanced up at her, once again startled by her changed appearance from the last time he had seen her. Tonks had arrived at his house this morning dressed in a fluorescent blue pair of ripped up jeans, a black shirt that looked like it had been splattered with neon paint, and her hair was died a bubblegum pink with streaks of purple smattered through it.

“He’s a friend from school.” Remus shrugged as he sat on the floor, leaning back against the bottom on the couch and opening his laptop.

“ _Just_ a friend?” Tonks asked, smirking slightly as she reached down to play with Remus’s hair.

“As of currently, yes.” Remus nodded, batting her hand away only to have it return a few moments later. He gave up with a sigh, resigning himself to his hair being messy for his video call with Sirius.

“But you want him to be more than just a friend, right?” Tonks asked, grinning mischievously as Remus started in surprise and looked up to gape at her. “Oh don’t act like that, Lupin. You’re not exactly subtle.”

Remus sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Well I at least thought I was more subtle than that, to be honest. How’d you figure that out?”

Tonks shrugged, flopping down on the couch and sprawling across it. “I dunno. Just watching you these past couple of days. The way you talk about him… your face just lights up.” She made a face. “It’s gross. And that nickname you have for him is completely weird.”

“You’re one to talk, Nymphadora.” Remus shot back with a smirk, grinning as she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Don’t _call_ me that, Remus! You promised never to call me that!”

“Fine, fine, I’m sorry.” Remus chuckled, pulling up the page on his computer for video chat. “Don’t you have your own house to hang out at?” he asked, glancing up at her. “Why’re you always over here, anyway?”

“Your mom said I can come over whenever I want.” Tonks grinned, stretching out. “And she makes the best Christmas cookies. My family’s coming over for Christmas dinner, too. You can’t escape us.”

Remus sighed, shaking his head. “Of course. And don’t eat mums cookies! …unless you get some for me to.”

Tonks nodded, hopping off of the couch. “How about I make us some hot chocolate and grab us some cookies while you start with your boy toy, yeah?” she asked, not waiting for Remus to respond as she headed into the kitchen.

Remus chuckled, smiling to himself as he pulled out his phone.

_Padddssss! I’m ready when you are._

**Just give me a second**

**Sorry, James was in the bedroom**

**ready to embarrass me**

**Okay, I’m good**

**want to call or should I?**

_I’ll do it_

Sirius grinned as the words “incoming call” flashed up on his computer screen and he quickly clicked on the “Accept” icon. There was a couple seconds of buffering and then a grainy video feed of Remus’s face came into view. A couple seconds later and the grainy-ness faded, the picture coming into clear focus. Sirius’s entire face lit up as he looked at the screen. “Moony! Looking handsome as ever.”

A bright grin split across Remus’s face as he looked at Sirius, realizing just how much he had missed seeing the other bloke these past few days. “Hey, Pads. How’s it going with the Potters?”

“Still fantastic.” Sirius grinned. “Mrs. Potter makes the best food I’ve ever had. I’m going to be so fat when I come back, so I hope you’re prepared.”

“I will prepare myself, Sirius.” Remus chuckled, shaking his head. “Although we both know I’m only in this for your body. I don’t know what I’ll do if your abs go soft.”

Sirius laughed, head tilting back and giving Remus a beautiful view of his adams apple. “I really don’t know, Moonpie. I really don’t. Sometimes I forget that I was the one you were talking about on Halloween. Were you really that taken with my costume?”

“Don’t you play coy.” Remus snorted. “You know I was, you don’t need any more validation.”

A call came from the other room and Remus took his eyes off of the screen to look in the direction of the doorway leading to the kitchen. “What was that, Tonks?” he called back.

“I asked if you wanted whipped cream and sprinkles on top, or if you were going to make me disown you as a friend?” she yelled back, head popping around the corner to arch an eyebrow at Remus.

“Of course I want whipped cream and sprinkles. What do you think I am, a caveman?” Remus shot back, looking scandalized. Tonks only smirked at him, waggling her fingers in a “shooing” motion before ducking back into the kitchen.

“That the next door neighbor?” Sirius asked, looking amused. “Did she ever leave?”

“Yeah.” Remus nodded. “She leaves to sleep at home, and sometimes eats meals there too. The rest of the time she’s over here, being a general nuisance and eating all of my mothers cookies.”

“And also bringing you cookies and hot chocolate, too, you nerd. Don’t forget that part.” A voice came from off-camera and Sirius frowned as moments later a female face surrounded by a head of brilliantly pink and purple hair appeared on his screen. “Hi Remus’s friend. I’m Tonks, Remus’s favorite next door neighbor. I’ve heard you’re named… Padfoot?”

Sirius slowly nodded, frowning as he studied the face on the screen. She seemed… familiar, somehow, but he just couldn’t remember where he knew her from. “Yeah. My actual name is Sirius.”

“I’m sure it is.” Tonks nodded, looking a bit confused. “So what is it?”

“No, Tonks. That _is_ his name.” Remus hissed from next to his friend. “His name _is_ Sirius. Like the dog star.”

“Oh!” Tonks nodded, a look of relief flashing across her face, followed by a frown. “You know, actually I should have known that. I had an older cousin named Sirius. Wonder whatever happened to him.”

Remus looked over at the girl, arching a curious eyebrow. “Was he from the side of the family that kicked your mother out?”

“Yeah.” Tonks nodded. “Bonkers, the lot of them. Pretty sure my mum’s sister, Bella-something, is in prison by now. The “Most Noble and Ancient House of Black” they call themselves. A bunch of racist, homophobic crazies, if you ask me.” She glanced back at the computer screen, elbowing Remus. “What’s wrong with him?”

On the computer screen Sirius was gaping at the pair of them, looking like he had seen a ghost. “Hey… Pads? You alright there?”

“Yeah…” Sirius said slowly, his gaping in shock slowly subsiding. “You wouldn’t happen to be Nymphadora Tonks, would you?”

Tonks blinked in surprise and slowly nodded, eyes narrowing as she regarded Sirius wearily. “Yes? Who’s asking?”

“Sirius Black.”

Tonks’s reaction was almost immediate as her eyes widened and she practically threw herself down next to Remus so she could get a better look at the screen, nearly upsetting Remus’s mug of hot chocolate in the process. “Sirius! You-you!” she gaped for a few seconds before a bright grin split over her lips. “Did you finally leave crazy town, then?”

“Yeah.” Sirius chuckled, nodded. “Well, got thrown out, really. Didn’t have a choice but to leave. Still the best decision I ever made. Never imagined I see you again, Nymphadora.” He smirked as Tonks stuck her tongue out at her given name, flicking him off.

“Well I never imagined I’d see you either. Ohhhh, got any good gossip?” she asked, bouncing up and down in her seat in anticipation. Besides her Remus was looking overly confused, continusously looking between Tonks and Sirius, as if to somehow glean what in the world was going on.

“Why yes, I do.” Sirius grinned before he paused and nodded at Remus. “I think we should probably clue our dear friend in on what’s transpiring, though. I’m not sure he quite gets it.”

Remus nodded, flushing lightly at being caught. “Yeah… not quite sure I get what’s going on. Are you two… related?”

“Yup!” Tonks beams, nodding vigorously. “My mum is related to his family. We’re somehow related but not quite sure how that is, so we just call each other cousins to make things easier. His family were the ones who kicked my mum out when she married my dad and had me out of wedlock, and now apparently he too has departed from crazy town.”

“Which, F.Y.I, means that they are no longer _my_ family, thank you very much.” Sirius huffed, folding his arms across his chest. “I used to see her when we were little, at the few social gatherings my mother allowed her family to attend. We were always warned never to be like the Tonkses.” He shrugged. “I always thought it looked way more fun to be a Tonks, to be honest. Nymphadora here dyed her hair bright blue when she was six. I was a very jealous eight year old. Got my hands on some dye and dyed my hair the same color when I was twelve. Mum was furious. Shaved my head, actually.” He trailed off, his smile fading. Then he shook his head, looking at Remus on the screen. “Who would have thought you two would be neighbors.”

“Yeah, crazy.” Remus nodded in agreement. “And who would have thought that she would be the sort of neighbor who never leaves.” He shot her a look and Tonks just smirked.

“Just drink your hot cocoa, dear, and let us gossip.” The girl grinned, sipping her own cocoa before she started munching on a cookie. She swallowed and stopped eating long enough to say “Now spill all the dark secrets” to Sirius, eyes never leaving his face on the screen.

Sirius hummed, looking thoughtful as he decided where he should begin. “Hmmm, well you were right about Bellatrix. She’s been in prison for the past… two years? Apparently she joined this cult-thing, was into some really heavy drugs, vandalized some place, and rumors say that she may have had a hand in the one guy’s murder, but the jury is still out on that one.”

“Wild!” Tonks exclaimed, eyes shining. “Oh, what about… what’s her face. The really blonde one. I always thought she was one of the saner members of the Black household, to be honest. Not to mention she was drop dead gorgeous, even as an awkward teenager.”

“Narcissa?” Sirius hummed softly again as he thought. “Yeah, she was more sane than everyone else. Um… oh. So she married this super rich guy. I think he has some position in the government and is also a banker? Maybe? Anyway, I was pretty sure that they only got hitched so quickly because Cissa had a pregnancy scare, but she at least seems relatively happy. Her hubby has ridiculously blonde hair, too. Like, when they actually have a kid his hair is going to be so blonde it’ll almost be white.”

“Not to mention blinding in the sunlight.” Remus commented, sipping at his hot chocolate, a small smirk playing across his lips.

Sirius beamed at him on the computer screen. “Right you are, my Mooncake. Let’s see, that else… oh, the ancient butler, Kreecher, was still there when I left home. Pretty sure he has dreams of dying in that house.”

Besides Remus, Tonks gave a pointed shiver. “Ugh, that guy always gave me the creeps. Even when he wasn’t _quite_ as old. Somehow I think some of your parents’ rather… pointed views rubbed off on him.” Tonks paused, thinking as she munched on another cookie. “Oh! How’s the brother?”

“Reggie’s... fine.” Sirius said slowly, looking a bit pained. “Doing whatever he can to make mummy and daddy proud, no doubt. Actually haven’t heard from him in… a good couple of months. Maybe six. Last I heard he was ready to go off to Law School, just like Mum and Dad always wanted.”

Tonks arched an eyebrow at Sirius, leaning forward to get a better look at his facial expression. “Who initiated contact last time?”

“He did, actually.” Sirius nodded, chuckling a little at Tonks’s startled expression. “Yeah, I was surprised too. Turns out he…well… outed himself to mummy and daddy. Expected the worse, I guess. Wanted to know if he’d have a place to crash just in case he suddenly found himself without a home.” He shrugged, tugging on a strand of hair that was dangling next to his face. “Anyway, he didn’t need it.”

Tilting her head to the side, Tonks chewed on her lower lip as she regarded Sirius carefully. “He outed himself? And your mom and dad actually didn’t freak?”

“Nope.” Sirius answered, popping on the “p”. “You see, I guess they think that if he’s bi at least he can still marry a girl? Even though when I came out it was all the same to them.” He rolled his eyes. “My theory is that they realized that if they kicked him out they’d be out of sons, and whatever would that do to their social image?” he asked in mock concern.

“Show everyone what bigots they are?” Tonks offered, receiving a smile and soft laugh from Sirius for her efforts.

“Yeah, it would certainly do that.” Sirius smiled, leaning back away from the computer and cracking his back. “And I’m afraid that’s about it for the gossip. If there is any more then I really don’t know it.”

“Awww.” Tonks pouted. “Pity.” She paused, a sly smirk sliding onto her lips. “If there’s no more gossip with the fam then I guess I’ll just have to settle for gossip about you two.”

Remus rolled his eyes, pushing her a bit on the shoulder. “No, no gossip about us. We’re not even really an ‘us’ yet, anyway, as I keep on telling you.” He huffed, glancing at the computer to see Sirius’s reaction. To his surprise the other boy was grinned widely and seemed completely unaffected by Tonk’s teasing.

“You should tease him like this more often, Tonks.” Sirius said with a wink to the other girl. “Who knew his blushing could be so absolutely adorable.”

“See, I told you!” Tonks crowed, jabbing Remus in the ribs with her elbow. “I told you you were cute when you blushed. And I told you that your Padhoof, or whatever stupid name you call him, really likes you. Told you so.” She sing-songed, unfolding her legs from under her and standing up. She cracked her back, groaning as it popped pleasantly. “Anyhow, I think mum expected me home over an hour ago to help with dinner, so I should probably head out.” She declared, leaning down to wave at Sirius.

“Say hello to Andromeda for me!” Sirius called through the speaker and Tonks laughed.

“Yeah. Will do.” She saluted the two boys before turning on her heal, grabbing her jacket from the back of the couch, and leaving. The front door banged closed behind her and Remus sighed, looking back at his computer.

“I love her half to death, but…” he started and Sirius finished the thought for him.

“She can get a bit much, I know.” Sirius nodded in understanding. “She was like that when we were little, too. Just this little tornado of snark and energy. It was even hard for me to keep up with her.” He smiled, sighing softly as he closed his eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling drained. “Sorry we didn’t get much alone time to talk.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Remus shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault. And if I had really wanted her to leave I could have kicked her out. My mum has given me free rights to do that if she’s becoming too much of a nuisance. It sometimes got so bad during high school that she wouldn’t let me get any homework done, so I’m more than used to having to kick her out. It was fine.” He yawned, blinking a bit in surprise. “Hmmm… guess I’m more tired than I thought.”

“Yeah, me too.” Sirius laughed, letting out his own yawn. “We can hang this up, if you want? Go back to texting? That way at least you can lay down and curl up with a blanket or something?”

Remus smiled a little at the offer. “Really, you’d be cool with that?”

“Of course.” Sirius nodded with a return smile. “And honestly, I want to do the same thing. I think Tonks just has that effect on people. Drains them of all energy.”

“Maybe that’s why she has so much.” Remus joked before he let out another yawn.

“Yeah, okay. We’re ending this call so you can go lay down before you fall asleep on me.” Sirius said sternly, rolling his eyes affectionately as Remus tried to protest. “No arguing. We can text, just lay down in a cocoon of blankets, okay?”

“Fine.” Remus grumbled. “I still miss your face.”

“I miss yours too, my Moonpie.” Sirius responded, blowing Remus a kiss. “Now say bye.”

“Bye.” Remus echoed, waving at Sirius before he disconnected and Sirius’s face was gone, replaced by Remus’s own. He sighed, closing his computer and setting it on the floor before he got up from the ground with a groan. He’d been sitting on his legs for far too long and they tingled with pins and needles as he tried to wiggle his toes and get more feeling into them. Although he had originally planned on heading upstairs to his bed to lay down until his mother got back, he took one step and almost fell as his legs threatened to give out on him. He tried to take another and ended up falling down and onto the couch. Figuring he was there already so he might as well stay lying down, Remus grabbed a fluffy blanket from one end and pulled it over himself. It took several minutes of rearranging pillows and situating his limbs until he was comfortable and had every part of his body surrounded by the warmth of the blanket. Once he was comfortable he pulled out his phone, pulling up his messages from Sirius only to see that there was already one waiting for him.

**Are you under a pile of blankets yet?**

_Am now. Nice and warm and very horizontal._

**Good, I’m proud of you**

_Still miss your face, though_

**don’t worry**

**you’ll be able to see it again soon**

**and then you’ll get to see it so often that you stop ever missing it**

**you’ll see it so often that you get sick of my face**

_GASP! As though that could ever happen_

_Your face is too pretty_

**And so is yours**

**Even your freckles**

**and the scars**

_…you think they’re pretty?_

**Of course!**

**I think all of you is pretty!**

_Well… most people see them as quite the turn-off_

**Nope**

**They’re actually quite the ~turn on~ ;)**

_Trash boy_

**wow, you haven’t called me that in ages!**

**I’m touched**

**I truly am**

_And what part’s being touched, hmmm?_

**This part**

-shirtless pic-

_Merlin, Sirius!_

_WARN A MAN!_

**What?**

**It wasn’t my dick**

**That’s what you wanted me to warn you about, yeah?**

_How about you warn me whenever you’re about to get sexy?_

**So…all the time?**

_Touché, Padfoot. Touché._

**Why thank you, Mooncakes, I try**

_So I’ve been meaning to ask…_

_What’s up with all the variations on my nickname?_

**Hm? Oh, you mean like Mooncakes**

**Moonpie**

**Mooncream**

**Etc**

_Yeah. Explain_

**Oh, I just thought they were cute**

**Kind of like a petname, but more punk-rock**

_Ah yes, because you’re so very punk rock._

_Hmmmm… I should ask Tonks if she thinks you’re punk rock_

**Nooooooo! Don’t ask her!**

_Huh? Why not?_

_Didn’t think you’d care this much_

**There…might be an embarrassing story**

**That I would very much prefer you didn’t know**

**That’s all**

**Plus Tonks is totally a Hippie or something**

**Meaning she’s a rival to punk-rock**

**So she’d say no on a matter of principle**

_Huh, never knew punk-rock had rivals_

**You’d be surprised**

_And what am I classified as?_

**You’re a nerd, of course!**

**What with all of the sweaters and books and stuff**

**You’re like a scholar**

_And are scholars and nerds rivals to punk-rock?_

**No, of course not!**

**In fact, scholars and punk-rock go REALLY well together**

**Like, really**

**You could almost say it was a pairing meant to be**

_I think you may be biased_

**…maybe**

**But just a little**

_Of course. I definitely believe you_

**Your sarcasm can be heard from all the way over here**

_Why thank you, I do try._

**Mrs. P is calling. Food must be eaten**

**I must take my leave**

_You will be most missed._

_I will await your arrival anxiously._

_Wait, mum just got back_

_I will await your arrival less anxiously_

**Wow**

**Rude**

_J Have a nice food eating!_

**I will, you too.**

**Miss you already, mooncakes**

_Miss you more, Paddycakes_

_My house has been invaded by gingers._

_They are everywhere._

**Evans’s family?**

_Surprisingly not._

_My mom invited a family from down the block over._

_They are so very ginger_

_I’m drowning in it_

**Ahhhh, gotcha**

**Well have fun? I guess?**

_I’ll try?_

_Oh dear._

**What is it?**

**I thought you were off to have fun**

_I think one of the sons is hitting on me?_

_Maybe?_

_Except they’re twins and I can’t really tell them apart_

_So I have no idea which one it is_

_Ugh, why do these things always happen to me?_

**Because you’re super adorable?**

**No, wait!**

**No!**

**I’m the only one who’s allowed to hit on you!**

_Don’t get your nickers in a twist, Padfoot_

_I mean, he’s attractive, but not my type_

_Way to muscular_

_Not to mention the other brother is the prettier of the two_

_But don’t tell him I said that_

**Of course I won’t**

**Don’t even know who they are**

_Oh. Their names are Fabian and Gideon._

_They don’t actually live here_

_But their sister does_

_So they’re visiting_

**WAIT!**

**FABIAN AND GIDEON PREWETT?**

_…how did you know their last name?_

_Don’t tell me you know these two boys?_

**THEY WENT TO MY HIGH SCHOOL!**

**WE PLAYED ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM TOGETHER!**

**AHHHHH THIS IS GREAT!**

**oh oh oh! Ask them about The Marauders**

_Why?_

_Who are the Marauders?_

**No one.**

**No more questions**

**Just do it**

_Ugh, fineeeee._

_I’m getting scolded for texting anyway._

_HOW WERE YOU NOT EXPELLED?_

**Ah, I see you asked them**

**Pretty clever, don’t you think?**

_You guys literally somehow snuck into your school’s attic_

_Figured out where the water tanks for the sprinkler system were_

_Poured dye and bubble bath into them_

_And then set off the sprinklers_

**It was brilliant!**

**There were bubbles EVERYWHERE**

_Yeah, and you stained the floors red_

**Like the blood of our enemies**

**and haters**

**and snape, the slimy git**

_Ah, yes. Fabian and Gideon know about Snape as well_

_Told me lots of stories_

_Sometimes you were a little… cruel_

_But I really can’t bring myself to blame you_

**Good, good**

**You’re not allowed to**

_Damn. I gtg._

_Scrabble time_

_It’s time to kick ass_

**Have fun kicking ass, my Moonpie ;)**

_Bye, Paddycakes_

To Remus’s great relief and yet utter dismay the holidays went by in the blink of an eye. Christmas was crazy, with relatives and neighbors filling the Lupin household to brimming. Despite the number of people over there was enough food to feed an army and Remus still found himself stuffed absolutely full by the end of the night. Due to all the festivities he barely had time to wish Sirius a Merry Christmas before he was tackled by a Tonks fully decked out in a red and green Christmas sweater covered in lights that actually twinkled, a pair of reindeer antlers sitting atop her freshly-dyed-white hair. Before he could put his phone away Tonks had snatched it from him, sent a rather raunchy message to Sirius, and ran off to hide his phone so that he couldn’t spend the entire night with his face buried in the screen.

When the party had died down and Remus had at long last found his phone at the bottom of a stocking, he was rather disappointed that he didn’t have any messages from Sirius. Not a single one.

_Hope you’re having a good night!_ _J_

He sent, in hopes of getting at least a “you too” in reply. But two hours later, when he was getting ready for bed, he checked his phone again only to see that he still had no messages. Trying not to feel bereft--Sirius was probably just busy partying, that was all—Remus sent one last message, hoping he didn’t seem too clingy or needy or anything.

_Good Night!_

_Merry Christmas. Again._

_Two more weeks <3_

After he sent the message Remus mentally barated himself for adding the heart at the end. Sirius must think that he’s such a girl, texting multiple times just because Sirius wasn’t responding for one night.

To Remus’s great relief the next morning Sirius was back texting with him, as though nothing was wrong. Part of Remus wanted to ask what was up the previous night, but he also didn’t want to push it. Surely Sirius would tell him? Especially if it was important? But as the days went on and the end of their holiday quickly approached Sirius made no mention of what had happened on Christmas.

Things were a bit… strained, in their conversations too, Remus thought. The conversations just didn’t seem to flow as easily as they once had. And sometimes, although Remus tried not to dwell on it, Sirius would suddenly have to go, with no prior warning, and he’d be silent for hours. One night he went silent for five whole hours in the middle of a conversation, then picked it right back up as though nothing had happened.

Then there was the date that they had talked about before leaving school. Although Remus had brought up the topic multiple times, Sirius seemed reluctant to really talk about it. Remus even just suggested that they get dinner or something, nothing fancy, and Sirius vaguely said something about not knowing what his schedule was going to be like or when he’d have time.

It almost seemed to Remus as though Sirius was… regretting whatever it was they had. As though… Sirius no longer liked Remus. The voice in the back of his head, the one that suggested he was going to fail before every big test and which constantly told him he wasn’t attractive every time he looked in the mirror, decided that it was going to speak up in Remus’s time of need. “What if…” the voice suggested, sly and low. “What if he found someone else? He could have gone out on Christmas to some club and found someone better. Someone more attractive. Someone more interesting. Someone… better. That’s why he isn’t talking to you as much. He wants to let you down easy before he introduces you to his new… partner.”

Remus tried not to listen to the voice, the manifestation of all his insecurities, but as the days past it got harder and harder to ignore. Finally, as he arrived by train back at school and his phone buzzed in his pocket, he couldn’t ignore it. He looked down at the message from Sirius, asking if he was back at the school, and instead of answering he pocketed his phone, ignoring it as it buzzed again.

After all…what if the voice was right all along?


End file.
